


Like Morning Follows Night

by iKnightWriter



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Allison Argent & Lydia Martin Friendship, Always Female Stiles Stilinski, Banshee Lydia Martin, Betrayal, Dead Claudia Stilinski, Female Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Multi, Nemeton, Pregnancy, Protective Scott, Rebuilt Hale House, Sacrifice, Scott McCall & Stiles Stilinski Friendship, Stilinski Family Feels, Surrogacy, Vernon Boyd & Isaac Lahey & Erica Reyes Friendship, Werecoyote Malia Tate, bloodlines
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-11
Updated: 2021-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:08:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 81,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22669054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iKnightWriter/pseuds/iKnightWriter
Summary: Somewhat healed from his own personal tragedy with the result of the Hale House Fire Derek makes his mission to reestablish his family’s lineage. Dealing with a personal tragedy, Stiles tries to find a way to restore the power in Beacon Hills. However, a threat from the past rears it’s ugly head to bring disaster to Beacon Hills, once again.
Relationships: Allison Argent/Scott McCall, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Kate Argent/Derek Hale, Vernon Boyd/Erica Reyes
Comments: 39
Kudos: 115





	1. From the Shadows

In a small diner sitting in a booth, Scott McCall does a spit take of his soda while beside him, Lydia Martin nearly chokes on the croissant she had been eating for breakfast. Across from them, Stiles Stilinski occupies the other half, watching them recover from their reaction to the news, she has shared with them.'

Lydia clears her throat, recovering first, “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard you clearly.” She places a finger on the table, “You think you want to what now?”

“I’m thinking about becoming a surrogate,” Stiles repeats slowly.

Lydia stares at her wide-eyed before changing her glance over to Scott, who is looking anywhere but at Stiles right now as he cleans up his mess. She lowers the croissant in her other hand, onto the plate, pushing it a few inches across the table, “You invited us out for breakfast to announce that you are considering being a surrogate?”

Stiles wriggles uncomfortably in her spot, “Yeah, in retrospect that might have been a bit of a distasteful choice.”

Lydia takes a sip of her juice, the expression on her face tells Stiles she is trying to process her announcement.

Scott, on the other hand, finally gives a response in a mild tone, “What the hell are you thinking, Stiles?”

“What do you mean?” Stiles questions, trying to sound casual.

“What do I mean?” He repeats back her, getting louder with each word. “What do I mean? I mean what the fuck are you thinking?” He takes a second to compose himself when he realizes that they’re getting attention from other customers. He leans forward across the table, dropping his voice to whisper, “You’re just going to go bear some stranger’s spawn?”

“The couple has extensively been screened and provided ample information to all of the applicants.” Stiles tells him easily, “There are tons of contracts involved and everything. It’s not as shady as you’re making it out to be.”

“I’m not making it out to be shady. I’m making it out to be weird as hell,” Scott counters back. “What good reason could you possibly have to do that?”

“Beacon,” She replies simply.

“What?” Lydia questions with horror and anger falling out of her voice. “What do you mean?”

“Beacon,” Stiles repeats, looking between them steadily. “The payments aren’t up to date and if I don’t catch them up soon, they’ll stop the restoration.”

Scott's expression relaxes at the shared news, “When did you find this out?”

Stiles really wishes Scott hadn't asked that question, but answers anyway, “Right after finding out Dad's ailment." She tries to offer a smile but could manage a weak tremble from her bottom lip. “I thought that everything was fine, you know?” Tears began to swell in her eyes, “I thought that he was still taking care of the restoration, even before he had gotten sick, and making sure that everything was fine. I assumed that he was doing everything that he promised mom that he was going to do."

“What happened?” Lydia questions her softly.

“It’s really my fault,” Stiles answers as a tear rolls down her cheek. “It really is. I shouldn’t have left him to handle everything as I did.”

Scott offers her a napkin, “Stiles, we were just children...”

Stiles nods, wiping her eyes, “But I shouldn’t have done it.” She sniffs, “It is my responsibility, not his. I don’t know why I didn’t think about it sooner. When I met the contractor, he told me that the payments were behind. I was able to scrounge up enough to pay a couple of months of work.” She shakes her head, “We knew that this was going to a process, but-” 

“Stiles," Lydia says, placing a gentle hand over Stiles's fist.

And God, the gesture makes Stiles want to cry even more, “I know.”

"Then why are you so concerned about rebuilding?” She questions her. “The attack on Beacon Academy occurred a decade ago. Your mom didn’t sacrifice herself for you to run yourself into the ground trying to restore it," She says tenderly. "She saved us all so we could start a new life. Don’t you think she would want to you let it go? Especially now with what’s going on with your father?”

Stiles swings her head, “No,” She answers, struggling to regain control over her voice. “No, I can’t. That place is all I have left of her. That’s all I have left of her legacy.”

“I wish that you would have told us this," Scott speaks. “We could have supported you. I don't make a ton, but between us, I'm sure we would have been able to get together enough that you wouldn't have to rent out your womb."

Stiles sniffs, grinning at him, “I know, and I love you both for that. I know that you would have helped me, but that’s why I didn’t tell you.” She takes their hand in hers, “I need to be able to do this for myself. I owe it to her and the Community.”

“You don’t have to go through this alone,” Lydia tells her. “You have us. We love you and we want to be here for you.”

"You know my family has operated in the shadows for the otherworldly residents of Beacon Hills for centuries,” Stiles reminds her. “I can’t ask you two to stop your lives just to help me out with this.”

“So, you’re not pregnant yet?” Scott questions her.

Stiles breaks into a broken laugh, “Do I smell pregnant to you?”

“Well, you’ve never had a scent,” Scott defends himself. “And you sound so convinced, I thought that maybe you got all swept up in it and just went ahead with it.”

“I still have to go through interviews and briefings and meet with the couple and go to the doctor.” Stiles explains, “There's a lot that has to happen before they even choose me if they're going to accept me."

“You’re really going to go through this aren’t you?” Lydia questions, sounding quite worried now rather than angry.

“I am,” Stiles reassures them. She gives them an assuring smile, “I’ll be fine. I promise.”

Scott gives an intrigued expression, “So who’s the couple?”

Stiles hadn’t planned on sharing the answer just yet and opens her mouth to lie when a notification dings on her phone, reminding her of an upcoming appointment, “Oh shoot," She claims with a sense of relief, “I’m gonna be late.” She tosses a couple of bills on the table while scooting out the booth, before Scott or Lydia had a chance of repeating the question, “Gotta go!”

Stiles hurries her way through the parking lot, thankful for the save. If she had shared what family she plans to be a surrogate for Scott and Lydia would’ve reacted more than just doing a spit-take and choking. They probably would've hauled her off to Eichen House, now a proper medical establishment, to get a psych evaluation.

* * *

Derek Hale and his long-time girlfriend Kate Argent sit in a conference room as they watch interviews being constructed in the office next door in search of their surrogate. None of the applicants are aware that they were being monitored by the Alpha of Beacon Hills himself and he wanted to keep it that. Choosing an applicant to carry their child was the most important decision that he and Kate would ever make, and they needed to make the right decision, especially if it was for the greater good for the Beacon Hills otherworldly population.

It has been a decade since the fires of Beacon Academy and the Hale House. It is originally believed that the fires were caused by an electrical malfunction, but there was always the suspicion of arson. By whom, no one knew, but Derek has a feeling. He always had a feeling and it stays in the back of his mind every day.

Which is why Derek feels that he is required to know everything that he can about the one who would deliver hope back to Beacon Hills, and it wasn't something that he could accomplish with just reading whatever Boyd had written about them. He trusts Boyd to handle the first stage of the screening process, which is mainly him going over medical examination and information sheets with them, but Derek wants to observe them as well so he can assess their character and personalities.

Kate wasn't too interested in the idea. She wanted to send the applicants to a doctor to weed out who was and wasn’t healthy enough and then hold interviews and choose the most qualified candidate from there, but in the end, she did give into Derek’s concept.

They watch as a woman wearing a large gray sweatshirt with a large mahogany S printed on it and fitting black sweatpants enter the office. Derek is immediately fascinated by her while Kate is the exact opposite.

“She looked like she rolled out of bed,” Kate comments next to him, clearly not dazzled. She is already standing up while slipping her arm into the sleeve of her jacket.

Boyd apparently has the same thought, “You look comfortable,” He tells the newcomer. There isn’t a hint of malice in his tone, but the way the newcomer reacts is the exact opposite of how Derek had seen others react.

“I am comfortable thanks for asking,” She says unashamedly with a teasing smile on her face. "How are you doing, Vernon?"

Derek watches as Boyd remains unaffected by being called by his first name. He despised it just as much as Derek despised being called “Derry” by Kate when she is angry.

Boyd takes a seat at the wooden desk with a leather chair in front of it, "You're five minutes late," Boyd counters, this time with mild impatience.

“I’ll do better next time,” She quips, taking a seat in the leather chair.

Derek swears he sees a twitch of a smile on Boyd's face.

“Don’t waste your time,” Kate says in a patronizing tone. A tone that she used whenever she felt like he was doing something wrong or something that didn’t make sense.

Derek hates that tone, it made him feel like she was basically saying that whatever he planned on doing was either going to backfire on him or make him regret it. It has become more apparent in the months since they started discussing about having a baby.

Derek draws in a breath, reminding himself for what felt like the hundredth time that day that this was the woman he is supposed to be sharing his life with, and smiles at her, “I actually want to see this.”

“Why?”

“I’m not sure.”

That is only half true. He is impressed that the applicant had somehow managed to get under Boyd's skin in a short amount of time, which wasn’t an easy feat to do and has only been accomplished by Kate from time to time. There is something else about her that seems to captivate not just him, but something deep inside him.

“Why do you want to be the surrogate?” Boyd questions her.

Derek watches as the applicant isn’t taken back by the basic question. Her behavior shifts from taunting to seriousness in a drop of a hat.

“My father is sick and there are things that I need to have taken care of,” She answers confidently.

“So, it is a financial motive?”

Again, the applicant isn’t at all taken back by the question, just as others had been. She remains unfazed and she keeps her eyes on Boyd, unflinching, not intimidated by him.

“Absolutely,” She claims. “This is a business transaction, anyone who states otherwise really hadn’t thought the whole situation through.”

That line sold Derek. He wanted her to be the one. He watches Boyd give her a brief look over, “Give me a moment.”

He gets up from the desk and walks through a door behind him, which leads into the conference room where Derek and Kate have been watching.

“She seems to know you,” Derek comments, remembering how the applicant called Boyd by his first name.

“We went to school with her,” Boyd says plainly.

“She attended Beacon?” Derek questions in astonishment. 

"She mainly kept to herself," Boyd tells him nonchalantly. "Only with friends with a few people.”

“Her attending Beacon is a bonus. Not having to have the "Werewolves and otherworldly creatures are real” talk is an extra bonus. Starting with no secrets is the best way to begin this relationship we’re going to be in together,” Derek decides.

“Relationship?” Kate questions with revulsion. "What do you mean by that?"

“She is going to be carrying our child, the Hope of Beacon Hills, don’t see how it’s possible to not develop one,” Derek tells her, focusing back on the screen, “What’s her name?”

“Stiles,” Boyd answers.

Kate snorts crossing her arms, “What the hell is a Stiles?”

In the office next door Stiles is still sitting in the chair where Boyd has left her, staring at the chair that he had vacated almost as though there is still someone there. She didn't move for several seconds, and then suddenly flung herself forward, her head dropping down between her knees and her arms dangling down by her sides, so her hands graze the floor. Once in this position, she lets out a long breath.

“Invite her back," Derek settles.

Kate stares at him, dropping her arms to her side, “Are you serious?”

“Very,” Derek declares. “Invite her back for another interview tomorrow.”

Derek turns off the image of Stiles still and stands up.

“You aren’t going to stay to watch the others?” Kate questions him.

“Nope,” He answers simply.

* * *

Stiles sits alone in her father's empty hospital room in the ICU, listening to the sounds filtering in from the hallway beyond. The unchanged beep of heart monitors, the endless inflation and deflation of automated blood pressure cuffs, the distant sobs of a person who'd lost someone dear.

That will be her in the near future.

Her father is still alive, for the moment, but given the rapid progression of his ailment, he would not be much longer. he'd already lasted well beyond his initial prognosis and that was really just thanks to the power her mother gave to him before she died.

But now Stiles has at last, come to terms with the fact that her father would never get better. Not even the Bite can cure him, not that he would want it in the first place. This was it. The end of the line.

She sighs, staring up at the ceiling.

She wonders why it had taken so long for her to accept reality. And the only reason she can think of was that she loves her father. It had been just the two of them since her mother died and he always made sure to her remind her that she still had him.

“You still got me," He would say, but now it won't be long before she wouldn't.

She blinks away undesired tears, going back to watching over him. She takes one of his hands in hers, “It’s okay,” She whispers. “I’ll take care of everything, don’t you worry about a thing,” She promises thinking about the second interview request she had gotten.

* * *

Derek watches Kate as she takes a sip of her black coffee as if she never had black coffee a day in her life. He wonders if it was almost as black as her soul. The thought comes to a shock for him, and he berates himself for it. Just because Kate is the daughter of renowned werewolf hunter Gerard Argent, didn’t mean she was anything like her father, whom Derek suspected had caused the fires.

There had been suspicions that Kate even playing a part in the tragic events, but Kate insisted that she had no idea what her father had been up to. Making a point to say that her father would certainly kill his own daughter just at the expense of killing shapeshifters and otherworldly creatures. Needlessly to say, Kate broke from away her family years ago.

He focuses back to his menu, “What’s looking good to you this afternoon?”

“I know what looked good to you,” She retorts.

Derek looks up from the menu, narrowing his eyes at her, “What is that supposed to mean?”

"I saw the way that you were staring at her,” She answers, her icy eyes scowling at him from across the table.

"I wasn't staring at her in any way," Derek states in a simple tone. At least, he thought he wasn’t.

Kate laughs bitterly, “I know that expression.” She gives him a raised eyebrow, “Remember, I used to be the one who was on the receiving end of those expressions."

Derek had always been faithful to Kate. Even when she was under investigation for her father’s actions, he stayed by her side despite what everyone else told him. Even when the Community had been against their relationship.

Derek reaches across the table, taking her hand, pulling it close enough for him to lean over and kiss it. He is almost surprised that she doesn't pull her hand away, "I wasn't staring at her in any other way than as the possible carrier of our child.” He shares, “That’s it. Just a few more interviews and meetings and with any luck in a month or two we will have a baby on the way.”

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?” She questions him, “I mean, really sure?”

Derek is confused, “What do you mean?”

Kate reaches across the table with her other hand, taking Derek’s in both of hers, "You've heard the talks about Gerard,” Kate tells him. "I just want to make sure that you are completely sure that you want to go through with this. It's a really big, and possibly dangerous, decision.”

“I know that, but so far they have proven just to be rumors,” Derek reminds her. “I know this situation isn’t ideal since we found out you couldn’t have children, I know that was hard for you, but we talked about this.”

“I know,” Kate replies, squeezing his hands comfortingly. “I’m just having more trouble with this than I thought that I would.”

“I’m with you every step of the way,” Derek assures her. “We’re in this together.”

"All right," Kate agrees, looking slightly happier now.

"All right."

Derek picks up the menu and starts reading the specials, but he can't stop thinking about what Kate had said about him looking at Stiles. There was no way he could've been looking at her the way Kate claimed he had. He didn't believe he could look at Stiles the same way he would look at Kate. They were just too different.

Like orange and blue.

* * *

That following morning, Stiles has managed to dodge Scott and Lydia's inquiry of the couple she plans to be a surrogate for. She knows she is going to have to tell them at some point, but for now, she just wanted to get through the process. She was genuinely surprised that Boyd hadn't told Scott about the interview, considering they have been on the same rec league for lacrosse for years now. It just confirmed how severe and delicate the situation was for everyone.

She forgoes the comfort of sweats and dresses in a pencil skirt and a black sweater, which was about as fancy as she can get without feeling like she was out of her skin.

She returns to the Hale House, pasting on as big and bright a smile as she can muster when she sees Boyd, "Boyd!" She addresses, using his preferred name. "So lovely to see you this morning."

“Stiles,” He says in way of super-abbreviated greeting. He notices her shivering, “Are you nervous?”

Stiles hears the underlined teasing, “No, it’s cold out there.” She gives him a knowing glance, “Not all of us can run hot naturally. Am I late again today?”

He glances down at his watch. Which she isn’t surprised about, “Three minutes,” He answers dryly.

“So close.”

“This way,” He directs her, starting them on a path through the foyer, passing a pair of glass doors, and into a waiting room.

Stiles notes that the group was smaller than the one from yesterday. She settles into a seat and they went through the same basic process as before, which consisted of filling questionnaires that now had more invasive questions. A nurse, just like last time, comes in and takes their vitals, but unlike being ushered into the office where she had her first interview, she is sent back to the waiting room.

Upon returning she notices that numbers have dwelled down even more. She tries not to think about it.

Nearly half an hour had passed before, Boyd peers into the waiting room, scanning the remaining applicants. He calls a name and an applicant across from Stiles nearly jumps out of their seat and scurries over to him. The same method is repeated for another hour, with each of the applicants returning and leaving before the next is called back.

Stiles didn't start worrying until everyone had left and she was the last one. This time she did start wondering if someone else had already been chosen and they decided that there wasn't any real point in even talking to her. That had to be it, right? Someone who had been in the same room as she had somehow caught the attention of the Alpha and Kate and was going to be carrying his baby for them.

She needs to get out of this room before her own thoughts drive her crazy. She is just about to call it quits when the door opens and Boyd pokes his face out, "You can come with me."

“Saved the best for last, did you, Boyd?” Stiles questions with sass, stepping past him.

She knew that while he couldn't smell her false confidence, he could hear the nervousness of her pounding heart. He at least had the decency of not calling her out on it. He leads them toward the office where they had their interview the day before. She readies herself to meet the Alpha and Kate who would potentially change everything, just like she would.

Boyd opens the door, Stiles takes a deep breath, and steps inside only to see that there isn't a couple waiting for her at the desk. But someone else she hadn't anticipated.

"Erica?" Stiles questions confused. Though when she really thought about it, she shouldn't have been surprised that she is being seen by another pack member.

Erica looks up from the papers she has been reviewing, "Stiles," Erica says with a wicked grin of her own. "Please, come sit."

Boyd closes the door behind him without saying anything. At least, it made sense as to why that one applicant had been crying as they left earlier. Stiles crosses the room, taking a seat in the same chair. While Boyd was the most relaxed one out of the couple, Erica was the opposite.

“How you been?” Stiles questions, not really knowing what else she could say to ease the stuffy feeling in the office.

“Pretty good, you?” Erica answers, not taking her eyes off Stiles.

"Surviving," Stiles answers plainly. "I thought I was meeting with the Alpha and Kate." She is hoping that the she-wolf will ease up on the stare down that she is giving, but Erica doesn't relent.

Erica shakes her head, "No, I'll be interviewing you today." She flutters through papers before finally breaking eye contact. Stiles takes a breath of relief, going into a staredown with Erica was hard, "As I'm sure you know by now, this is a pack operated manner and I recently have been granted permission to specializing in surrogacy law."

“Congratulations,” Stiles says honestly. 

“Thanks,” Erica responds. “As you know, my client is a prominent figure and does not want others, to know about the surrogacy plans until he is prepared to release such information. To protect his privacy and the privacy of his girlfriend, he has asked that I handle this stage of the interview process and provide legal information and details to those who have been shortlisted.”

“Girlfriend?” Stiles questions slightly surprised by the word.

Erica looks up from her papers, “Yes,” She answers in full-business mode. “My client is not yet married. Do you have some sort of moral objection to that?”

“No,” Stiles answers, trying to keep the conversation on a professional level. “No moral objection. I’m just surprised.”

Surprised that’s it been ten years and they still hadn’t got hitched that is. Not that Stiles is judging because she knew marriage wasn't for everyone, she was just surprised considering everything that Derek and Kate had gone through...

Erica doesn't bat an eye, "My client has extremely high pressure, tightly scheduled business and personal life. He must decide for any and all pursuits in his life, including his desire to have a child, according to the time that he has available." Erica continues watching Stiles, "Recent events have made it possible for him to begin this process. But I assure you, he has every intention of marrying his longtime partner."

* * *

Derek knew that Erica was going to pick on Stiles. He knew the moment he saw that mischievous smirk on her face when Boyd told her who they had left and her comment, "This will be fun."

While Derek didn't support his pack members displaying their dominance over others, especially none shapeshifters, Derek needed to see just how Stiles would handle Erica's uptight attitude that she reserved only for business. But he is more fascinated with Stiles being able to hold down on her own.

However, Erica's phrase "longtime partner" remains stuck in his head while Erica goes over all of the legal details about the arrangement.

Derek hadn't really considered Kate to be his partner. Girlfriend, yes. Partners felt like a whole different, meaning altogether. Even the way Erica had said it made it sound like it had a different meaning. He heard the disdain in her voice when she responded to the marriage comment. Yeah, he was very aware that his packmates didn't like Kate.

He thought about the other applicants and how they handled Erica’s business personality. They all seemed enthusiastic when they first come in, taking a moment to process that it wasn’t the couple they thought they were going to meet waiting for them in the office, and then listened as Erica started outlining the expectations and responsibilities of the arrangement, the fees and financial support being offered, the guidelines that were made, and the legal protections being put into place to guard both sides.

Most handled it well, but a few minutes, right to where Erica started talking about medical expectations and lifestyle guidelines, the smiles on their faces started getting a little plastic, their eyes became glassy, and the noises that they were making no longer coordinated with anything in particular that Erica was saying. Erica, at one point, made one cry and the other three made it through and tried to ask questions about all of the information with varying degrees of understanding and sense.

Stiles, once again, had surprised him. She didn't wear comfortable clothing as she had done yesterday. Her appearance had completely taken a 180. Almost as if she were a completely different person. Derek, for a second, honestly thought that she was. She looked beautiful when he first saw her, but even now she more stunning. "Get you a girl who can do both," Laura used to say.

He watches Stiles listen to the explanation all the way, while not being intimidated or overwhelmed by Erica or the flow of information. He wonders just how many people she knew in his pack and why is it that they've never met.

She remains unfazed by anything Erica has said to her. But didn’t seem cold or distant. She is very much in the present and involving herself in the conversation whenever she had a question.

“What do you think of her now?” Derek questions Kate.

Kate sits beside him, clearly bored out her mind as she picks at a nail rather than paying attention to what was going on at the screen. She at least gives a cursory glance before shrugging, “She’s okay,” She said.

"You do realize that's she is the same person who you claimed looked like she rolled out of bed, yesterday," Derek points out to her. "The same one who you thought I was showing more than enough interest."

Kate makes a face at him and Derek is struck, just like yesterday and many other times in their relationship, by how much Kate gave off the vibe of having a more superior attitude just like her father. He really did hate that he could compare her in that way. He wanted to feel what he could feel between Erica and Boyd and other couples. He wanted to look at her the way, Boyd looked at Erica.

He thinks about the times that he met other Alphas and their mates, along with other couples. He would see them holding hands, walking with their arms around each other’s waists, and leaning in to whisper to one another, smiling and giggling at what each other said.

Kate and he weren’t like that.

He knew they looked great together, but there was no warmth between them. They didn't seem to fall into their own world the way others did. Derek knew he shouldn't compare their relationship to others, but he longed for that kind of connection, the spark of passion and tenderness. Sure, after the loss of his entire family, there had been those feelings, but with time those seemed to have faded.

Erica and Boyd have been together just about as long as Derek and Kate, but it seemed that they were still riding the high of being in love.

And if he were completely honest, this wasn’t the first time he has felt this way.

* * *

Erica had given Stiles permission to share the news with a limited amount of people if they were willing to sign consent forms. Which is understandable considering the sensitivity of the process. Of course, Stiles planned on telling her father, whenever he woke up, but there was no way she could not tell Lydia or Scott.

Which is why she thought a more appreciate time to share the news with them would be during their traditional Friday Night Flicks, while they were watching _The Notebook_ , Lydia’s favorite movie, as they had soda and popcorn.

This time it was Lydia who does a spit-take and Scott nearly choking on popcorn when Stiles shares the news just as a young Allie and Noah rekindle their relationship in the movie.

"Can you not wait till we don't have anything in our mouths," Lydia questions her, pausing the movie and gets up to get a towel to clean up her mess. Stiles pats Scott on his back as he continues having his fit. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were trying to kill us."

“I’m not trying to kill you,” Stiles counters as Scott finishes his fit.

“You’re seriously going to the surrogate for Derek Hale?” Scott questions. “Hasn’t your family done enough for his. Sacrificed more than his?”

“Scott, that’s not fair,” Stiles tells him.

“I’m just saying,” Scott claims, holding his hands in defense. “You and your dad have done and sacrificed a lot not just for his family, but the Community as well.”

"It's not like I'm not getting anything in return," Stiles explains as Lydia returns to wipe up her spit-filled soda from the floor. “The money I receive will be going to the reconstruction of Beacon and towards his medical bills.” Scott gives her a worried expression, “Look at it this way, there’s a chance that the baby will inherit the power of the Nemeton. What better way to be the Hope of Beacon Hills than being the descendant of the Legendary Hale Family with the power of the Nemeton?”

"That sounds like a lot of pressure to put on a baby," Scott comments.

Stiles huffs her nose at him, looking to Lydia for help, “Help me out here.”

Lydia tilts her head to the side, clicking her tongue, "I have to agree with Scott on this," She tells her. "There is a low probability of it inheriting the Nemetonic abilities, especially since the lycanthropic gene is more dominant."

“But there’s still a chance,” Stiles points out with a pointed finger. She notices Scott and Lydia’s discouraging expressions, “I thought you guys supported me on this.”

"We are," Scott tells her. "And considering the reason behind all of this, do you realize just how dangerous, if not how crazy, that is?"

Stiles closes her eyes taking a breath, "I do, which is why this has been kept on the down-low."

“A threat that has been creeping it way back into our town for the past year,” Lydia remarks. “Gerard has been gaining allies within that time span.”

“And so far, nothing has happened yet,” Stiles counters back.

“Only because your father is still alive,” She makes a point to say. “God knows what will happen once-” She stops when she realizes how far she had gone and the broken expression on Stiles, “You know, I’m not saying this to hurt you.”

"I know," Stiles assures her. “But if I have a chance of doing something that can help us survive, I'm going to do it.”

A silence falls between the trio, “You know,” Scott says, after a while. “You can always get a third opinion.”

Stiles grunts at the suggestion, “We all know exactly what he would say and even then, he’ll be as cryptic as possible.” She shakes her head slightly, “No, this is something that needs to be done without cryptic influences.”

"I guess it's better than jumping in this situation blindly," Lydia gets back up to return the rag to the kitchen. “When are you meeting them?" She questions while rinsing off the rag.

“Tomorrow.”

“They aren’t waiting around, are they?”

“Neither will Gerard,” Stiles comments knowingly.

* * *

“Not late today,” Stiles announces to Boyd as she walks into the foyer, the following morning.

Boyd decides to humor her by checking his water, “One minute.”

“Dammit.” Stiles mutters, “I’ll get better. Promise.”

He gives her something that could pass for a smile, “This way,” He directs, leading the way. “They’re waiting for you.”

“Already?” Stiles questions impressed.

“Their time is very important,” Boyd explains. "They don't have the benefit of just waiting around for people."

“And yet, here we are, me a minute late.” Stiles quips, walking through the waiting room towards the door, "I must be pretty exceptional.”

Stiles’s confidence slowly fades and is replaced with the nervousness she experienced on the drive to Beacon Hills as she gets closer to the closed door. She stops but doesn’t bother reaching for the door handle. Beside her, Boyd doesn’t move to open the door either.

“It helps if you turn it,” He informs her.

Stiles turns her head, giving him a slightly amused grin, “Have you finally turned into a joker after all these years?”

Boyd just gives her a minor glare, before opening the door. Stiles steps inside the office, coming face to face with another former schoolmate that causes her heart to flutter slightly. God, she hoped he didn’t pick up on her heart racing.

“You must be Stiles,” Derek greets her, standing up and reaching a hand across the desk toward her. “I’m-”

"I know who you are," She tells him, unknowingly interrupting him as she shakes his hand. She tries to ignore the warm sensation she feels when her and his hands connect as she looks for a missing Kate.

As if he read her mind, “Kate will be joining us later, hopefully,” He tells her, sitting down and motioning toward the chair across from him. "She had a few other appointments this morning."

Stiles wasn't sure what other appointments could possibly be keeping her, considering that Stiles hadn't seen any other applicants in the waiting room. But she decides it was best not to tempt fate and keeps her mouth shut.

“I’m sorry about the bait-and-switch situation yesterday. This is a really important decision for me." Derek explains, his voice is soft and light. “For us. And I want to make sure I make the right one.”

Stiles nods, “Regarding the situation, I totally understand." She tells him honestly, looking into his green eyes, “Is there anything else that you want to know?”

She wants to know how she can stop herself from staring at him. Let alone be attracted to him. He had grown up in the right places since they were in high school.

Derek looks over the papers on his desk, flipping through them, his eyes scanning over them in the quickly flickering moves of speed reading, the same way Stiles did when she was researching on how to rebuild Beacon Academy.

“There are just a couple of questions that I want to ask you.”

“Go ahead,” She encourages him. “Anything you want to know. I’m an open book.”

He gives her a light smile, "I have been told that you attended Beacon Academy, but for some reason, I don't recall ever meeting you."

* * *

Derek can't shake the ghost touch of Stiles's hand. He finds it strange and even more strange that he can't get a scent off her and he wanted to ask what exactly she was but didn't want to make her more nervous than she already was.

“I was two grades below you,” Stiles explains, not missing a beat. “Different social circles and all that.” She gives a casual wave of her hand, “But I’m sure you heard about the paper Coach had to read that had nothing to do with economics.”

Derek remembers that whispers all too clearly. Apparently, it had been very researched and detailed.

“That was you?” Derek questions with quite impressed.

“That was me,” She agrees, giving him an embarrassed smile.

An embarrassed cute smile.

You shouldn’t be thinking like that, Derek. Stay focused.

"When is a door not a door?" He randomly questions.

"When it's ajar."

“What falls but never breaks and what breaks but never falls.”

“Nightfalls and Daybreaks.”

Impressive. Derek sits himself up, “As you know I am a werewolf and you know what abilities I possess,” Stiles nods her head. “So, I have to ask…” Why can’t I get your scent, he wants to know. But chooses to question, “Is Stiles your real name?”

Stiles has a bit a pride on her face, “It’s both a nickname and family name.” She seems rather proud at the fact, “My real name is too difficult for most people to pronounce, so I just stuck with Stiles, making it easier for everyone else.” Derek doesn’t respond for a second, taking in her words very carefully. “Even I had a hard time pronouncing it when I was younger.”

“How far did you get?”

Stiles is silent at the question, for a moment, “The best I could do was Mischief.”

From what he had seen with her interactions with Erica and Boyd and the memory of frustrating of Coach’s rant about her paper, Derek couldn’t help but laugh at the thought because honestly it was fitting.

“What is going on here?”

The sound of Kate’s cool voice stops him from laughing, and Derek turns in the direction of the door that was behind the desk, “Oh, you made it. This is Stiles,” He introduces her, “I was just asking her a few questions.”

"I can't imagine what would result an answer like that."

Even though he knew that Kate didn’t take a liking to Stiles, it didn’t change the fact that he still felt that Stiles was the one.

“I thought that you were going to ask her things that pertain to the arrangement,” She question, not even trying to enter the room. Derek knows she is ready to run away the moment she can.

He walks to the door, taking her hands, kissing both as they stand by the door. Surprisingly once again, she didn’t pull away.

“I am,” Derek assures her, turning himself so Stiles and Kate can see each other. “Don’t you want to know that the woman we choose to carry our baby can think quickly and has a creative mind?”

“I’m not sure that her creativity has anything to do with her ability to get pregnant and deliver a child,” Kate says offhandedly.

From the corner of his eye, Derek swears he sees Stiles' eyes flicker a white glow before she focuses on something on the floor, but despite her silence, Derek hears a vibration of a hum coming from her.

Stiles didn’t like Kate either.

“I think it does,” Derek says, trying to diffuse the situation. “It means that she will be adaptable to whatever situations might occur.”

“So, I suppose that you’re settled on her?” Kate questions him, ignoring Stiles all together.

“She is the one.”

Derek know Kate is mad at him by the way she stares at him. Especially since she knew that he knew that she didn’t like Stiles in the first place and it was obvious just in the way that she looked at her.

Thankfully, Kate decides to play nice as she offers a smile and walks towards the desk where Stiles is sitting.

“It’s wonderful to meet you, Stiles,” She tells her. She reaches a hand toward Stiles, who stares at her for a few unsure seconds and then takes her hand cautiously.

Kate pulls her to her feet, wrapping Stiles into a hug that was so out of character for her that Derek almost wants to pinch himself to make sure he isn’t dreaming.

“Thank you so much for being willing to do this,” Kate practically gushes. “You are an angel for making a dream come true not just for me and for my Derry, but for Beacon Hills.”

Yep. Kate was pissed.


	2. Two Steps Back

Derek spent the next few days, giving Kate her space. She made it clear that she was still angry with him in the smallest of ways, but with time he knew she’d forgive him. After all, they were working together towards a common goal.

But while in that time, Derek couldn't get Stiles out of his mind. Their brief interaction days before left him feeling hopeful, light, almost as if she could solve whatever problems that would be thrown her way. He was willing to admit that he expected her to back down based on Kate's behavior from their first meeting, but when she didn't; that just proved to him that Stiles wasn't one to back down from a challenge.

And a challenge this process will be.

Today being the first step.

“You’d think with your enhanced hearing, you’d react to what I said,” Kate comments in a very passive-aggressive tone.

Derek hadn’t, he is feeling too nervous and enthusiastic about their meeting for the morning, “I’m sorry, Katie,” He apologizes. “Tell me again.”

That is the first mistake Derek makes at the start of their conversation as he watches Kate's face turn red and her eyes glare sharply at him. Her scowl deeps with frustration.

Of course, in recent months it seems that nearly everything that he did was the wrong thing. While it wasn't pleasant, Derek didn't know what else to do. He sympathized with her, knowing that the process wasn't going to be easy for her and maybe that wasn't enough. It's easy to know something, but it was different than understanding it. He did appreciate her welcoming Stiles, though he has never seen her react that way in her life, he wonders what her motivations were.

He hates that he feels the way he does, but as always that voice in the back of his head doesn’t stop to remind him that Kate had the same personality type as her father.

Months before the fires, an Alpha named Deucalion decided that maybe it was time to have talks of peace with Gerard. Many people were against the idea first, thinking that Gerard would never accept, but they were surprised that the Hunter agreed to meet. They warned him to be careful, but Deucalion has such a strong vision for peace that he didn’t listen.

The meeting turned out to be an ambush that left a few dead and Deucalion blind.

“I went to see my doctor this morning,” Kate explains to him. “The doctor told me that my eggs aren’t viable.”

“What does that mean?” Derek questions, even though he knew. A part of him knew, but he also needed to hear her say it.

"I can't even conceive a baby. What few eggs I do offer aren't healthy enough to actually support a baby."

Derek makes mistake #2.

“What does that mean for the surrogacy?”

Kate’s mouth falls open slightly, “Is that really all you care about?” She questions him. Derek was sure if she was a shapeshifter her eyes would’ve flashed, “I’m telling you that I’ve heard this terrible news about my health, and all you can think about is whether this woman you’ve chosen is going to be able to get pregnant?”

“Yes,” Derek answers in a calm tone. "Isn't that why you're upset, too? If your eggs aren't viable, wouldn't the only reason for you to be upset is that the surrogacy can't go forward as we planned?"

“You want this baby so badly,” Kate tells him.

“I thought that we wanted this baby so badly,” Derek counters.

“Of course,” Kate sighs, finally seeming to cool down. “That’s what I meant. We want our child. And now the doctors have told me that I can’t possibly have one. What are we going to do?”

Mistake #3 coming right up.

Derek checks the time on his phone, “Stiles has an appointment to meet with Deaton in twenty minutes,” He tells her. “We’ll go to the meeting and talk about it. Maybe he will have a suggestion.”

Kate’s eye twitches with annoyance, "Don't you think that if there was an option at all, that my doctor would be able to tell me?"

“You insisted on going to see a regular doctor rather than one that specializes my kind.” He offers lightly, “Maybe there’s something that they don’t know that we could consider.”

That would've been considered a home run for all the mistakes Derek made in their conversation and Kate is ready to fight with him about, but Derek doesn't allow her the opportunity as he grabs his coat and heads out the house.

Unlike the other appointments that were held at the newly rebuilt Hale House, the appointment was at Beacon Hills Medical Clinic. They made it for the afternoon time when the building would be empty and there not be a risk of prying eyes.

When he walks into the clinic, Derek notices Stiles and Deaton appearing to have a staredown, while Boyd and Erica standby looking rather amused, “Is everything alright?” Derek questions.

“Peachy,” Stiles tells him. “I was just surprised that Deaton practiced this as well considering his other profession.”

Deaton gives Stiles a blank expression before instructing, “Follow me please.”

He leads them into an office that had three seats in front of a desk. Derek had intended to take an outer chair, to allow Kate to sit between him and Stiles, but she drops down into a side chair without looking toward Stiles or him. Stiles takes the other side chair which leaves Derek to sit in the middle.

Boyd and Erica stand next to each other by the door, amused faces no longer present.

Derek tries to give a smile towards Deaton, hoping that the awkwardness wasn’t too obvious. But he sees Deaton shift eyes between Stiles and Kate, already deducing the situation.

“Before we get started,” Kate says, breaking the silence in the room. “I think that I need to tell you something. I’m not sure why we are even here. This cannot proceed.”

Beside him, Derek feels Stiles tense up, just as the lights around them flicker so slightly. Derek looks to Deaton to see if the doctor had noticed the strangeness, but it would seem that Deaton had his head cocked with curiosity while so also giving Kate narrow eyes.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“I came from my doctor earlier this morning,” Kate shares, much to Derek’s dismay. He was hoping to have a chance to lead in the conversation, but it is clear that Kate had other ideas. “They told me that my eggs aren’t viable, so I will not be able to conceive a child.”

“Well,” Derek says trying to gain some control of the conversation as he reaches out to touch her leg comfortingly. “They didn’t say that specifically. They said that her eggs aren’t viable, but her doctor isn’t you. We were hoping that maybe you would know of an alternative that would still allow the plan to move forward.”

Deaton nods, “I do.”

Derek gets a sense of relief, “That’s wonderful news.”

“But,” Dr. Deaton starts with cautiously, “It might not be what the two of you had planned.”

“What do you mean?”

“If Kate’s eggs aren’t viable, there’s really nothing that I can do to make them viable.” Deaton explains to him, “It just means that they can’t be used. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t use another egg.”

“Another egg?”

“An egg donor is used in a large percentage of surrogacies,” Deaton reasons.

“You want me to just choose a stranger and use their egg?” Kate questions.

“Not necessarily a stranger,” Dr. Deaton, suggests, before looking at Stiles.

Stiles is completely caught off guard, “Me?”

"Traditional surrogacy involves the woman who is acting as a gestational carrier to also contribute her egg.” Deaton explains, “The process is largely the same except for the insemination procedure, and the legalities will remain that once the baby is born, it is the child of the couple and not the surrogate.”

Silence falls over the room for only a beat before it filled with unruly voices.

“How could you even suggest that?” Kate demands.

“You can’t be serious,” Erica questions. She places a hand on Stiles' shoulder stating, "No offense, Stiles." Before looking back at Deaton, "This will make things much more difficult."

“I’ll do it.”

The uproar stops instantly at the calm agreement.

Stiles has her hand, holding onto Erica’s as if she needed an anchor. She looks to Deaton, her face still, but unfazed by her own statement.

“You will?” Derek questions.

“Yes,” She answers with conviction. She looks to Deaton, “I will. I told myself I would do anything that I could to help you and I don’t go back on my promises. I know what’s at stake and what needs to be done. If using my eggs is what it takes,” She declares. “Then I am willing to do it,” She finishes, looking to Derek.

It is like word vomit. Stiles didn't have to think about the decision without needing the time to think it over. She indeed knew what was at stake. She always had a plan B when it came to planning a big decision, even if Plan B was completely made up at the last moment. Derek's sad expression hadn't helped either. She didn't like seeing him sad. It almost like he and Scott could win in a puppy-eyed contest.

“Thank you so much, Stiles,” Derek says, he takes her hand in his. “You have no idea what this means to me.”

“Yes,” Kate says, her voice somewhat flatter now as she gives Stiles a stoned expression. “No idea.”

“Of course, all care after today will be performed at the Hale House,” Derek announces, breaking away from Stiles. “Everything still needs to be kept tightly. So, what has been decided in this room, only stays between us and the people Stiles chose to share her news with.”

"How can you be so sure that they won't tell anyone else," Kate says, looking expectedly for Stiles to answer.

“Because I trust them with my life,” Stiles answers strongly. “They’re my family.”

* * *

Scott and Lydia are back at the Stilinski home, this time neither of them drank or ate anything before Stiles had shared her news with them.

“Jesus Christ, what were you thinking?” Scott questions her after Stiles shared the new development,

“I panicked,” Stiles confesses. “I totally and completely panicked, and I’ll admit that, but-” She says with her hands up in defense, “You can’t think it’s that bad when he is on board with the idea."

“He was the one who suggested in the first place,” Lydia argues.

“No surprise there,” Scott comments with minor anger, crossing his arms. “Will it be your baby?”

“No,” Stiles explains. “It will still be their baby. Erica was there throughout the whole thing to make sure that I understood what was happening, and we signed the contracts. Essentially whatever egg they use won’t belong to me. The baby is theirs.”

“And you don’t have anything to do with the baby?”

“Nope,” She answers with certainty.

“But are you absolutely sure that this what you want to do?” Lydia questions carefully. "You're no longer just carrying an egg and sperm in this case. You'll be using your egg. That's literally a piece of you.” Lydia gives her a worried look, “That changes everything.”

Stiles shakes her head, “It changes nothing.” She looks between her two friends, her expression serious, “Do you guys have my back or not?”

“That’s a dumb question,” Scott tells her easily, unfolding his arms as he pulls her into a hug. “We’ve always got your back,” He tells her, but over Stiles’ shoulder, Scott is giving Lydia a look of concern that matches hers.

* * *

While Stiles was having unity on her end, Derek wasn’t having the same luxury.

“How could you do that?” Derek had barely gotten through the door of their home when Kate whips around to glare at him, “I can’t believe that you asked Stiles to let us use her egg.”

Boyd and Erica abandoned ship at Kate’s mood as they quickly hurry up the second level of the house. And he honestly wishes he can do the same. Whenever, Kate was in a particularly bad mood, such as the one she is in now, his betas would leave their Alpha hanging high and dry.

“I didn’t ask,” Derek points out to her, “She offered.”

“And you accepted.”

“Of course, I did.” Derek says as if it were the obvious choice, “You heard what Deaton said. If your doctor said that your eggs aren't viable, then that's it. They can't be used for surrogacy."

“And you were just so willing to jump on using her egg,” Kate tells him in an accusatory tone as she stalks away from him and into their living room where she takes a seat on the couch, crossing her arms.

“I don’t understand why you’re acting like this,” Derek tells her.

“Acting like this?” Kate questions, her voice almost hissing. “What is that crack supposed to mean?”

“You are so angry that I agreed to let Stiles contribute an egg so that we can have our baby. It doesn’t make sense.” Derek tells her, “You agreed to surrogacy when you found out that you can’t carry children.”

“I agreed when I thought that maybe somehow, go through the experience with you,” She defends herself. “Not be left on the sidelines.”

“You aren’t on the sidelines,” Derek assures her, sitting on the couch beside her. “You are going to be just as involved every step of the way as I will be. Nothing else will matter.”

But Kate isn’t moved by his words, “Maybe it’s time for us to talk about adoption.”

“You know that it doesn’t work like that,” Derek tells her. “The power that my family has can only be inherited genetically.”

“You’re asking me to raise a child that belongs to someone else,” Kate tells him. “It’s not exactly fair circumstances.”

“If you want to consider adoption, we’ll talk about it.” Derek tells her, “But we still wouldn’t have what we need.” He gives her a soft expression, taking her hand in his, but this time Kate pulls away, “We need to ensure Beacon Hills’s safe first.”

He watches Kate’s eyes flickering slightly back and forth as if she was thinking hard about something. The color in her cheeks faded and the tension in her muscles disappeared, “We’ll do it your way.”

Derek leans in to pull her close for a reconcile hug, but Kate moves away from, giving him a cordial pat on the leg before she ups and leaves him alone.

Derek should feel relief that they have been able to talk about their issue, but he didn't. Kate’s cool demeanor left him wishing that they had reconnected and understood each other more just as he was in others, but if he were truly honest with himself, he’d know that they never had the type of connection he sought in the first place.

* * *

“I can’t ask you to do that,” Stiles says as she sat looking between Derek Kate.

The procedure had been two weeks ago. Now Kate, Derek, and Stiles are waiting in the examination room for Deaton and his results.

“Of course, you can,” Derek assures her.

“No.” Stiles says even more certain, “I can’t ask you to do that.”

“If she says that she can’t, she can’t,” Kate tells Derek, in a snappish attitude, as she stands with her arms crossed over her chest.

Derek concluded that he was no longer going to let Kate force his hand. He wanted to be as invested and committed as he possibly could, even if that meant ignoring how difficult she was being. At this point, he was all talked out and they needed to focus.

“There’s no reason that I can’t help her.”

“This doesn’t have anything to do with the contract,” Stiles insists. “You can’t be responsible for my personal expenses.”

“Part of the agreement was that I would provide for your expenses throughout the agreement period.”

“Yes, like housing and medical expenses.” Stiles says in an obvious tone, “That doesn’t include helping with the restoration of Beacon Academy. That’s something that I decided to do on my own.”

“I don’t want you having to be stressed about anything,” Derek explains to her. “Whatever the results are, I don’t want you to worry about having to go down to the construction site on your own."

“I wouldn’t be doing it on my own,” Stiles insists. “I have friends that would help me.”

Derek hears the blip in her heart. She is lying about not doing it her own, but he isn’t going to call her out on it, “This is something that I am happy to do for you,” Derek pleads with her, giving her a knowing glance.

He knew. Stiles knew that he knew, and he is just being kind enough to not call her out on her lie, “I will, but only if I get to see the first steps being taken.”

The corner of Derek’s mouth twitches, “Agreed.”

Stiles gives him a relieved smile, “Thank you.”

Deaton finally walks into the room, carrying a folder, “Congratulations,” he says, his face breaking into a smile. “Stiles is pregnant.”

Stiles turns her head to look at Derek in reaction to the news. Their eyes connect and without thinking, Stiles jumps to her feet, closing the space between them as Derek does the same.

It feels right being his arms, she realizes. She felt safe like nothing could touch her even if it tried. She felt almost whole. She thinks Derek might have felt the same as she feels him, holding onto her rather protectively. Like he would take on any threat that came to like. Like a wolf, protecting their…

She quickly takes a step back at the thought, which she realizes is a mistake based on the worried look Derek gives her, “I’m sorry,” He apologizes, “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” She answers with a slight laugh. “I’m not breakable, I promise.”

“We’ve gotten through the first hurdle,” Deaton tells them, bringing them out of their own world. “The procedure worked, and Stiles is officially pregnant. Your baby is happily growing and has gone a few key phases of development already. Now we move forward. This is just the beginning.”

“So, what now?” Kate questions, the tone is her voice sounding slightly irritated.

“Now we decide how to proceed. Stiles can either be under my care or-.”

“Melissa,” Stiles says, not giving it a second thought. “Scott’s mom,” She explains. “She knows about everything about me and my health history, so it's not like we'll have a total stranger included in the process if that's okay."

“Of course, that’s okay,” Deaton claims, closing the folder. “We can start you under her care in just a few weeks, once a bit more development has happened. For now, just relax. Enjoy the news. If you notice any signs of problems, such as bleeding, cramping, or dizziness, come in as fast as you can. Other than that, I’ll set you up for your first appointment during midsummer.”

“Midsummer?” Derek wonders, sounding slightly frantic. “Why that far?”

“Because there’s really nothing that we can do until then,” Dr. Deaton explains. “The baby has plenty of growing to do, and until then, we won't be able to even see or hear a heartbeat. After that, I promise things will get more exciting. So just go on home. Congratulations again."

It's not long before the uplifting mood from the news is ruined by Kate, who is now glaring at Stiles, as they leave the clinic, “Make sure that you’re following the diet that I gave you,” She demands her. “I don’t want this baby being born with a food addiction or already behind in the fight against childhood obesity. Besides,” She looks Stiles up and down, scrutinizing her, “There’s no real point in you getting fat, is there? You won’t have a built-in excuse once the baby’s born.”

“Kate!” Derek scolds but is blown off by Kate as she stalks toward the car. Derek turns to a silent Stiles. “I’m sorry,” He apologizes on Kate’s behalf. “That was really uncalled for.”

“Everything about her is uncalled for,” Stiles states casually. “And that’s fine. I’m not doing this for her. I’m doing it for you and Beacon Hills.”

“Thank you,” Derek tells her, his face in a big grin. “You don’t know just how much this means to me.”

Stiles gives him a smile of her own, "I promise I will do everything I can to be the very best home for your baby until it's born."

"I know," Derek tells her just as Kate starts calling for him from the car, but he ignores her. The joy and appreciativeness that he feels for Stiles aren't going to be ruined by her.

“I guess I’ll see you at the site?” Stiles offers.

“Good. You can send me the address for the new location, and I’ll send a crew out.”

“Oh, it’s not a new location,” Stiles tells him.

This piqued Derek's interest, “What do you mean?”

“It’s actually in the same place,” Stiles tells him off-handedly. “You remember where it is, don’t you?”

Derek smiles at the question.

Of course, he did.

* * *

Two days later, Derek meets with Stiles at the site for the restoration of Beacon Academy. The display of the burnt-out shell of the school still got to him. He had been fortunate enough in not being in the fire itself or even in his family's house fire, but lives, that didn't include his own family, had still been impacted.

Stiles had been so engrossed at the construction crew and equipment, she jumps when Derek suddenly appears at her side, offering her a box of doughnuts.

She doesn’t take one at first, giving him a suspicious expression, “I thought that I was supposed to be on a strict diet.”

Though she wore a suspicious expression, Derek sees the teasing smirk on her lips and laughs, “I won’t tell if you won’t,” He whispers in teasing tone of his own. “It’s a diet that mostly Kate’s doing, anyway.”

She takes a pastry from the box eagerly, “To getting through nine months off no sugar or caffeine.”

“Almost ten months, technically,” Derek corrects her.

“If that’s the case, I’m going to take two,” Stiles declares, taking another just as the wrecking ball takes its first swing into the building. They watch at what used to be the front entrance of the school, crumble into pieces easily.

“You know,” She tells him in a soft voice. “While we can’t exactly share the news so openly, I feel that the restoration of the Academy also provides a symbol of hope.” She looks to him, “Does that make sense?”

Derek nods his head in agreement, “It does.”

“Awesome,” She says, giving him that same embarrassed smile.

The same cute embarrassed smile.

Damn it, Derek.

* * *

In the following months, Derek had been antsy. He tried to keep himself busy with focusing on the restoration of Beacon Academy and trying to find any clues on finding out Gerard and his whereabouts. Everything was going along smoothly with the restoration that they could reopen it in the upcoming fall, but not so much on the Gerard end. Despite millions of things that needed to be done, he couldn’t get Stiles out of his mind.

Which is why Derek finds himself back at the Preserve in Beacon. He knows there’s a chance that Stiles could be at the hospital visiting her father and having a life of her own, but he needed to see her. To see them. He hoped that she would understand.

He pulls into an open gravel area in front of a house. Despite being surrounded by trees the yard appears to be kept nice and clean. He spots a blue jeep close parked closer to the house, implying that Stiles is home. He takes a bundle of flowers and sparkling grape he had picked up along the way.

But as soon as he steps out of his car, he is confronted by a coyote. A coyote that looks to take a nice big chunk out of him. Derek easily lets his eye glow red at the animal, but it doesn’t budge. Instead, its eyes glow blue in retaliation while making a low growling sound while baring its teeth.

“Malia!” A voice calls out. Derek follows the direction of the voice and sees a fiery redheaded woman walking off the porch towards their direction. She wears a disapproving expression, but it isn't directed towards Derek, but to the coyote. "Remember your training.”

The animal seems to huff at the reminder but stops baring her teeth. “Come on, lunch is almost ready.”

Not needing any more encouragement, the coyote turns her back on Derek and trots up the steps and into the home, "Sorry about her." The woman apologizes to him as she stretches out her hand, "She normally good at controlling herself. You must be Derek."

Derek easily grips her hand in return, “I am.”

“Lydia,” She introduces herself, “That was Malia. The others are already inside, but you may want to get rid of the red eyes first.” She advises him, “Stiles a "No Supernatural Hierarchy" rule in her house.”

Derek does as directed as follows her inside the house.

The first thing he notices when he steps into the home is that there is an enormous amount of space, for what Derek can assume to be the living room, that is occupied by a half-shifted werewolf and some type of lizard creature as they wrestled along the floor.

“The werewolf is Scott and the kanima is Jackson,” Lydia informs him as they watch as Jackson bodyslams Scott into a wall, causing a minor crack.

"You two supernatural shapeshifters,” A familiar voice calls out from another room, "Are trying to test my entirely un-supernatural level of patience.”

“She’s in the kitchen,” Lydia tells him as she leads them to the kitchen where he sees Stiles standing at the stove, stirring a pot, that strengthens the smell of food while Erica is chopping up fruit and tossing it into a bowl.

Stiles spots him first, “Hey!” Her voice clearly not trying to sound as confused as she is, “I thought the appointment wasn’t for another couple of weeks?”

“It’s is.” Derek explains to her, “I was just…” He sees Lydia giving him a judging stare just as Erica starts to pretend to be super busy with her task, making it clear that she isn’t going to help him out of the jam.

“I invited him,” Boyd announces as he walks through an entrance that is attached to the kitchen. “I honestly didn’t think he was going to come.”

“I didn’t mean to intrude,” Derek apologizes. He silently thanks Boyd for having his back.

“The more the merrier,” Stiles tells him as she steps away from the stove.

When Derek finally gets a good look at her, his heart practically skips a beat. Because he can see it. He can see a small bump that is covered by the apron, that has various spots and splotches on it.

Unsure what to say, Derek holds out the flowers to her, “Thank you,” Stiles says, accepting them and tilting her face down into the golden, red, and orange blooms. “They’re beautiful.”

“You’re welcome,” Derek says, finally finding his words. “I also brought this,” She shows her the bottle of sparkling grape juice. “Since you can’t have wine.”

“Really?” Stiles questions, reaching up into a cabinet to pull down a glass jar, filling it with water before tucking it onto the sill of a window that is opened. “I thought that that was an old wives’ tale. And here I’ve been guzzling down bottles of wine and cooking with it all day. A little for the pot, a little for me."

“Don’t give the man a heart attack, Stiles,” Boyd tells her.

A loud thump is heard from the other side of the wall, “Speaking of heart attack,” Stiles mutters. "Boyd, can you take of this for me?" She questions, "I've got to go give two idiots hell."

Stiles walks past Derek, taking the same route Derek had through a dining room and towards the living room.

“I should probably go help her,” Derek offers, taking after Stiles.

This time Scott is now in a chokehold by Jackson, but Stiles isn’t paying attention to what they are doing. She is noticing the damages the house has obtained, “Oh, you guys, come on.” She begs, touching a crack along the wall, “This house does not have a supernatural ability to heal!”

She finally looks to the wrestling shapeshifters and claps her hands together, “So stop it!”

“Just a second,” Scott says as he manages to get up with the lizard creature on his back, “Let me just-”

He gains his footing and the momentum that is needed and flips Jackson right on its back. Hard.

“Damn it, McCall.” Jackson groans as he shifts back to his human self as Scott does.

“Hey, now,” Scott teases with a smile, “No swearing in front of the baby.”

He does offer Jackson a hand up, which Jackson takes while giving him a smug face, “Bite me.”

“Before the two you decide to continue breaking my house,” Stiles says loudly, “We have a guest.” She indicates at Derek by her side.

“Alpha Hale,” Scott acknowledges in a rather indifferent tone.

“Call me Derek.”

“Now that introductions are out of the way,” Stiles says in a strong tone. “Isaac wants to set up the table outside and I would like to avoid a repeat of what last time.”

“What happened last time?” Derek wonders when Scott and Jackson start laughing, as they left the room.

“Isaac got stuck between the door and the table.” Stiles explains with a fond smile as well, “Had to call the fire department to get him out.”

“And the others didn’t help him?”

“They were being trolls,” Stiles explains fondly. She looks up the staircase where a pair of eyes are watching them, “Malia that means you too.” Stiles directs at the coyote, but she doesn’t exactly move. She is too busy giving Derek another stare down, “It’s fine Malia.”

The coyote made an annoyed huff sound, before giving Derek another glare and, jumping down the stairs after the others.

* * *

It takes almost half an hour for everyone to settle down, but when they did Derek felt something he hadn’t felt in a long time.

He feels a sense of unity among Stiles’ friends with Erica and Boyd. This surprises him, considering in the years of their friendship, he never truly felt like it. Yes, he knew Erica and Boyd would defend him and fight with him no matter what, but something about being surrounded by others like them just felt different. It felt more like a family than an actual pack.

“Hey Derek, are you going to join us?” Isaac’s voice calls down from the table when all the food is practically gone.

Derek has been caught up in his world, he hasn’t heard a single thing that has been thrown his way, “What?”

“For our free run,” Isaac explains with an eager expression. “Every now and then, this bunch gets together for a big meal, such as this, and a nice run through the preserve, embracing our animalistic side.” He speaks with such pride, “Sometimes even other shapeshifters from families join in. Then afterward we have a nice round of dessert courtesy of Stiles.”

“You want me to join you?” Derek questions the group.

“Of course,” Erica answers from her spot beside Boyd. “That’s why you came over, isn’t it?”

She is picking on him again.

“Uh, maybe next time,” Derek informs him. “I’d feel bad to leave Stiles with all this to deal with on her own.”

Stiles opens her mouth to assure him that it is fine, but Jackson beats her to the punch, “She’d prefer if we left her alone. You heard how she was earlier.”

"You were damaging my house," Stiles shoots at him with no real heat. “You’re lucky, that’s all how I reacted.” She looks to Derek, “Since you’re the only one who hasn’t tried my patience lately-”

“Hey!” Two indigent voices, that Derek realizes are Scott and Lydia, shout.

“You’re welcome to stay behind and help,” She looks all around the table. “The rest of you get the hell off my property please.”

Derek watches as everyone, except for Scott and Lydia, shuffle away from the table, removing the top layers of their clothes to the athletic wear they wore underneath, and jump off the porch running into the woods that lay behind the house.

It’s not until they are inside the kitchen, does Stiles finally ask the question, she has been wondering all afternoon, “Where’s Kate today?” She wonders, trying not to sound like she is prying.

“She ended up getting a summer cold,” Derek answers, though the tone of his voice didn’t sound convincing.

“Oh, really?” Lydia questions, not sounding too convincing herself as she puts food away. “That’s a shame.”

He didn’t like the vibe that is he is getting from Lydia. It is like she knows he is lying without her even having to concentrate on hearing his heartbeat.

“This was incredible,” Derek tells Stiles, hoping to shift the conversation away from Kate.

“I’m glad you like it,” Stiles beams. “Most of these are my family’s recipes that have been passed along from generation to generation.” She looks around the kitchen with a sense of nostalgia, “Just like this house as well. In a way, it’s like the foundation of my family.”

Derek nods his head in understanding, “Family traditions are important.” Traditions that Derek, unfortunately, hasn't had the pleasure of experiencing in the past decade.

“So, Derek I gotta ask now that the others are gone,” Scott says. Derek looks to Scott with interest, “Why aren’t you and Kate married?” Stiles gives Scott a _what the hell_ look, “What? I’m just curious is all.”

"You don't have to answer that question," Lydia informs him. "Especially when it's really none of his business."

“I think it’s a fair a question considering all that we are going through,” Derek answers, coming to Scott’s defense. “But to answer his question, I don’t really know.”

“Do you want to marry her?”

“I don’t know.”

The surprise expressions on Stiles, Lydia, and Scott’s face tells him that he gave an answer that they didn’t quite expect. And if he is being honest with himself, he is surprised too.

Lydia gives him a curious face, “Why don’t you know?”

“Now you guys are just being nosy,” Stiles comments, trying to shift the conversation. “Instead of being nosy, why don’t you go join in the free run.”

She hopes that she can avoid Scott and Lydia grilling Derek about his personal life, but Derek ruins it by answering, “We’ve been together for so long and been through so much, with her disavowing her family to the fire to this.” He looks at Stiles, “I can’t imagine anything else. She understands our lifestyle.” He looks to Scott, “She understands our status and knows that the safety of the Community is my primary focus right now.”

“You’re well on your way,” Stiles tells him with an approving smile.

“That doesn’t sound like a healthy relationship,” Lydia comments. “But then again, after what you guys dealt with in the aftermath…” She sighs. “If it works for you it works.”

“But what about the baby?” Scott questions. “What if the baby doesn’t inherit your power?”

Stiles wants to kill Scott so bad right now.

“Even if the child, Stiles is carrying doesn’t inherit my family’s power, I can always offer them the Bite when they’re older,” Derek answers. “But it honestly doesn’t matter to me, I know that it may just seem that I want to have a baby just for Beacon Hills’s sake, but it’s not just that.” He looks to Scott, “I’ve wanted to have a family for a long time. Does that make sense?”

Scott stares at him silently, “It does.”

Lydia clears her throat, “I think we should go join the others.”

Scott nods his head in agreement before swooping Lydia into his arms and heading out the kitchen exit.

“You’ll have to forgive Scott,” Stiles tells Derek when Scott and Lydia are gone, “He’s more protective of the two.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Derek tells her. “You said that you trust them with your life, and I can see why.”

“Yeah, he’s been more protective because of the whole Gerard and baby thing,” Stiles tells him. “I know that you didn’t want to join in the free run, but do you want to go for a walk? I know the conversation was a bit intense and too personal.”

“What about dessert?”

"Scott and Lydia know what to do," Stiles affirms. "Come on, you look like you need some fresh air.”

She leads him out the front door, walking down the steps before realizing that Derek isn’t following her down the driveway, “Is something wrong?”

While Derek did enjoy spending the afternoon with Stiles and her friends, there had been a few things that sat wrong with him in the earlier part of the afternoon he hadn’t let on. The in-shift wrestling with Scott and Jackson that occurred in Stiles’ proximity made him feel uneasy and the thought of a shapeshifter that preferred to embrace its animal side rather it's human side didn't sit well with him either. Maybe if Stiles wasn't pregnant with his child, he probably would feel different.

Maybe.

But she is and despite her being able to have a good handle on them, he really wanted to advise on her not being around her friends if they decided to act rowdy.

Yeah, he can see that conversation going well.

But her not locking her home is something that he can’t let slide, “Aren’t you going to lock the door?”

Stiles gives a small laugh, “We’re just going for a walk.”

“You’re not going to lock it?”

“I know it may be hard to believe, but the Community doesn’t live in fear as much as you think it does,” She sees that Derek isn’t convinced, “The last time there was cause for alarm was because of Liam Dunbar running down the street naked, halfway shifted and closing in on the Beacon Hills city limit line.” She gives a casual head tilt, “That’s not exactly the crime of the century.”

“No, I guess not,” Derek says as he walks down the stairs by her side before Stiles leads him down the driveway and onto the sidewalk.

It doesn’t long before they come across one of Stiles’ neighbors in her garden, “Hi, Stiles,” She greets when she looks up from her growing plants. “Oh my, Alpha Hale, it’s an honor to see you in the flesh.”

“Please call me Derek,” Derek tells her with a friendly smile. “I’m here just as a normal citizen Mrs…”

“Talbot, Lily Bleu Talbot, but everyone calls me Lily,” She introduces herself, before focusing on Stiles. “I can assume that was your gang that I saw running in the woods for a free run?”

“Yeah,” Stiles says. “They need to blow off some steam before my house became a victim,” Stiles shares with her. "I assume Brett and Lori went off and joined them?"

Lily laughs, “You know they did. I also saw your little coyote friend trying to make her way away from my patch before Isaac called her back over.”

Stiles looks at the hole that Lily has been filling in, “Oh no, not again.”

"Stiles don't worry about it," Lily comforts her. "We know she can't help it."

"We'll do better with her training,” Stiles promises. “As a token of appreciation for your understanding, I do still have enough leftovers to feed an army.”

“That’s not necessary, but I’ll gladly take you up on your offer,” Lily beams.

"Then it's settled. I'll send Brett and Lori home with some later this evening," Stiles tells her.

“Much appreciated,” Lily tells her. “Go on and enjoy your walk before it gets dark”

It's not until they are a good distance away does Derek finally expresses his concern, “So Malia…”

Stiles gives him a confused appearance, "What about her?"

Derek feels that he is creeping into dangerous territory, “I’m not sure if I’m comfortable with the idea of you hanging around a shapeshifter that is more animal than human.”

This causes Stiles to halt her steps and give him a displeased look, “What do you mean more animal than human?”

Derek looks at her dumbfounded, “You can’t seriously be asking me that question.” But Stiles continues to glance at him as if he has lost his mind, “This entire afternoon, she has not once shown in signs of having any of her humanity left.”

“So?” Stiles questions him in a guarded tone.

“Stiles, what if she attacks you?” Derek questions her.

“She won’t attack me,” Stiles tells him offhandedly. “She knows the difference between friends and threats.”

“But you don’t know that,” Derek argues. “Can she even shift back?” He wonders, remembering the stories he heard in the aftermath of the fire. Some students chose to embrace their animal side rather than regain their humanity.

“When she wants to,” Stiles answers.

However, that isn’t the answer Derek wants, “While we’re on the subject, I’m not too crazy about Scott and Jackson wrestling in your home and stressing you out.”

“They were not stressing me out,” Stiles counters. Derek gives her a raised eyebrow letting her know that he heard the lie, “Okay, maybe just a bit but they stress me out naturally. And you saw they stopped after I told them to.”

Derek scoffs, “Yeah, after you had to tell them twice and be in the same room with them. Scott practically body slammed Jackson near you.”

“Would you rather I just let them destroy my house?”

“I would rather you not hang out them for the remainder of your pregnancy,” Derek comments without thinking.

When the air around them suddenly feels like it is filled with static, Derek knows he has said the wrong thing, “I get that you’re concerned," Stiles tells him in a calm voice, "but I don't need your permission on who I do or do not hang out with."

“Well, you kind of do.” Derek says, making the conversation worse, “You are pregnant and I have a say in your lifestyle, so I can make sure that you're taking care of my child properly."

Stiles stare turns into a glare, “You might get to tell me what I should and shouldn’t eat or drink, but you can’t tell me who I can or can’t be around. Especially when it comes to people, I consider being my family.”

“Stiles-”

“No, you don't get to show up to my home,uninvited by the way,” Derek gives her a surprised expression. "Yeah, Boyd is a terrible liar, Stiles informs him before coming her tirade, “And act like you know everything and anything about the people I hang with just because you’re the Alpha. In case you have forgotten, I attended Beacon Academy too,” She snips. “I know the same if not more about how to handle shapeshifters when it comes to them embracing their animal instinct just like you.” She turns on her heel, taking them on previous their route, but she continues ranting, “Now, I’m going to go back to my house, step up for dessert because no doubt they're making their back. Alone.” She stops him by his car, the only one that is in the driveway, “Enjoy the rest of your night.”

She takes a few more steps before whirling around to face him again, “And I’ll have you know there are worse things than a shapeshifter who gives into their animal instincts.”


	3. Control the Storm

Derek knows that Stiles is still mad at him because she is refusing to even look in his direction as she, Kate, and Derek are in the same examination room waiting for Melissa. Kate stands beside him, her hand almost possessively on his shoulder as she prefers to stand rather than sit next to Stiles, who lays on the examination table, looking very interested at the posters on the wall. You can cut the tension with a knife.

Derek has been wanting to apologize to Stiles since their fight, but it just so happened that Kate decided that she wanted to spend more time together and not in the bonding sense either. It was like she knew that Derek had something to hide. As far as Derek knows, she isn't even aware that he had even visited Stiles, much less got into a fight with her. She hadn't even bothered asking him where he had gone, but with the way things were lately, Derek didn't bother volunteering information.

Derek still thinks about the last thing Stiles said to him two weeks ago.

_There are worse things than a shapeshifter who gives in to their animal instincts._

He knew who she was talking about and agreed with her just a bit. Gerard needed to be taken out permanently. His family's reign of terror on shapeshifters and other creatures needed to end a decade ago, probably even before then. God knows what he has been doing since that time.

The silence is starting to get to him. It's been like this since Stiles showed up at the Hale house, and while Kate seemed to entirely comfortable with the mood, Derek dreads the possibility of facing five more months of them just sitting in silence as they prepare to protect their future.

The door to the room finally opens with Boyd escorting Melissa, "This place has changed since the last time I was here," Melissa comments as she settles on the stool that had been tucked under the counter and uses it to slide over to Stiles. "How are we feeling today?"

"Pretty good," Stiles admits. "If you consider the smell of food making me wanna puke."

Melissa laughs at the statement, "Scott tells me you get cranky from your morning sickness, but it's perfectly normal at this stage. It should be gone in about two more weeks."

"Joy," Stiles comments without sounding completely enthusiastic.

"You've dealt with worse," Melissa tells her with an encouraging smile before she focuses on the couple in the room. "I assume everyone in here has been given the okay to be in here. Not to cause unneeded stress for Stiles and the baby?" She questions aloud but is mainly looking at Derek.

Yeah, Derek, she knows exactly what you said.

"All good here," Derek assures her with a respectful smile.

"Excellent," Melissa says, returning a smile as well. "Let's go ahead and get started."

Stiles pulls up the t-shirt she is been wearing, the bump bigger than what Derek remembers from two weeks ago as Melissa sets up the equipment for the ultrasound.

Once Melissa is ready, she applies a gel on the bump, causing Stiles to gasp in surprise, "You did that on purpose."

Melissa laughs, seeing that Derek and Kate are giving them lost expressions, "She hates the cold."

"Only slightly," Stiles informs them.

Melissa begins to move the transducer around, "There's your baby." She points to the monitor that the transducer is connected. She turns a knob on a machine and a rapid beating sound is fills in the room, "And there's the heartbeat."

Derek looks at the screen in awe, a smile spreads across his face. He doesn't even realize it until it happens, but Stiles' hands moved towards his, enclosing it around hers as she stares at the monitor in awe, Derek feels a tingle within him.

Why did this feel so right?

"I see 10 fingers and toes," Melissa reports. "Heartbeat is a little fast, but nothing to be worried about. I don't see anything out of the ordinary." She continues to stare at the screen herself, "She is perfectly healthy."

"It's a girl?" Derek questions his voice in a whisper.

"Yep," Melissa says proudly. "A beautiful healthy girl."

"It's a girl," Derek beams at Kate.

"I see," Kate says in amazement with a smile of hers almost matching his but as soon as Derek turns back to screen, her smile disappears because seeing the baby on the screen isn't the only that Kate sees though.

She also sees that Stiles and Derek haven't let go of each other's hand and while she knows that she should feel some type of way, she doesn't. She'll punish him later, but right now she has other things that are more important that she needs to focus on…

* * *

A week later, during a night of the full moon, Derek can't shake the feeling of urgency. Like something was wrong. He chalks up to the full moon that he is watching from the window. It has been years since he did a free run of his own, letting the wolf in him come to the surface. He's almost tempted to do so, and he doesn't have any reason not to.

Kate had taken a sudden trip out of the blue. Did he know where? Not even a clue and though she refused to tell him where she was going, Derek knows that he was getting punished for some reason that he doesn't even know.

Boyd and Erica, no doubt, were having their private free run together and nothing needed his immediate attention, so he doesn't see why not.

Everything around him is peaceful, so why did he feel like he wasn't at peace?

His phone rings as if to respond to his question, "Hello?"

"Derek, it's Lydia," Lydia's voice tells from the other end. "I need you to get to the Preserve as soon as you can."

He doesn't need to be told twice as he runs out of the house because while Lydia had been on the phone with him, he heard fighting and someone screaming in the background.

* * *

"I'm sorry," Malia tells Stiles as they are both in the basement of the Stilinski home.

"It's not your fault." Stiles assures her, "You're still learning."

"Scott seemed to be hurt bad." She grunts, trying to break away from the restraints that are connected to the basement walls. She has sweat coming from her forehead and breathing heavily.

"Scott is fine," Stiles assures. "He will heal. The others are taking care of him."

This doesn't seem to settle Malia's nerves, "But what if I hurt you?"

"You're not going to."

"But I want to." Malia announces as she tries to make a jump at Stiles, only to get pulled back against the wall, "Uh! I look at your face and I want to slash at it. I want to tear at it." She rants, getting more and more worked up, "I want to feel your bones crack between my hands."

Stiles remains calm and doesn't flinch at Malia's vivid details, "Surprisingly enough, you're not the first person to ever say something like that." Malia growls in response, "I promised you that I would help you learn control." Stiles reminds her, "I'm keeping my word."

"Stiles please," Malia begs as she manages to finally break one of the restraints on the wall. She knows that it is only a matter of time before the other comes undone. "Please run."

But Stiles remains persistent, even with her standing on the other side of the room, "I'm not going to run." Stiles tells her, "I know your senses are overloaded right now, but just focus on the sound of my voice."

"Listen to mine!" Malia shouts as she manages to snap off the last restraint, freeing herself completely, "Run!" She warns as her eyes start glowing blue.

* * *

Derek arrives at the Stilinski residence to find Lydia waiting for him in the driveway. He can already sense that something is wrong because he can smell blood in the air.

"What happened?" He questions as he makes his way down the driveway.

Lydia doesn't answer his question but tells him. "She's in the basement with Stiles."

It's all Derek needs to know before he tries to take off into the house, leaving Lydia behind. However, Lydia stops him when she grabs him by the arm, "But first there's something that you need to do before you go down there."

Derek hurries to the basement but slows down when he hears Stiles' voice, causing him to stop at the bottom step. He takes a careful step to the door but stops just before the threshold.

Inside the room, he sees Stiles standing in front of the coyote with her back to him. Unlike his two experiences with Malia, Derek notes that her scent is mixed with fear and guilt rather than aggression.

"Malia…" Stiles calls to her gently. Malia gives a small head tilt at the sound of Stiles' voice, "Focus on the sound of my voice." Stiles takes a careful step toward her, but Malia backs away into the little space she has left into a corner. "You're not going to hurt me," Stiles assures her, seeing that Malia is still worried. "I don't think you want to hurt me." Stiles says, taking a knee in front of the animal, "And I think maybe you're so afraid of hurting me because of what happened to your family."

Derek thinks about Lydia told him; _"When you get to the basement, no matter what you see, you need to stay calm and not go inside," Lydia advises him. "Because Malia isn't a typical case of a shapeshifter who purposely embraces their animal instinct."_

" _What do you mean?"_

" _She didn't know about her supernatural abilities until some hunters shot up her family's car that prompted her to shift and lose control," Lydia shares with him. "Her mother and her sister were in the car at the time and they…"_

_Lydia doesn't need to finish her sentence for Derek to know what she is talking about._

Derek watches as Malia simply stares taking in Stiles' words. Stiles reaches out for her with an open hand. Malia lets out a small whine. "I know. I know." Stiles chants, "But it wasn't your fault. What happened to them wasn't your fault. We'll help you through this. I'll help you through it."

Malia lets out a whine, "You will, but you need to listen to what I say, understand?" Malia blinks her eyes as in response, "I need you to remember your anchor. Remember it has to be something meaningful to you." Stiles continues coaching her, "Bind yourself to it. Keep the human side in control." Malia lets out another small rumble, "Anchors don't always have to be present in your life." Stiles replies, "Even the memories of the ones you've lost are enough to keep your human side in control."

The coyote seems to be listening to her words, as she closes her eyes, following Stiles' instructions. In doing so, Derek sees that she slowly transforms into a human. When she does, Malia opens her eyes as they glow blue as tears roll down her cheeks.

"You did it," Stiles says with pride, moving close and pulling her into her arms, "You did such a great job."

* * *

Derek and Stiles watch as Lydia and Malia make their way off the porch as Lydia takes Malia home.

However, Malia keeps giving Stiles unsure glances as they near Lydia's car.

"You'll be okay," Stiles assures her with an assuring tone. Malia grunts at the assurance, but her eyes switch over to Derek, who is standing right beside her. "Derek is a friend," Stiles tells her. "He'll make sure I'm okay for the evening."

But her words, don't seem to win Malia over.

"Maybe you should tell her yourself," Stiles whispers to him.

Derek sees that Malia still hasn't taken her eyes off him. "Nothing will happen to her under my watch," Derek says without hesitation, "I promise." In a way to solidify his vow, Derek lets his eye flash their Alpha red to which Malia's respond with their blue.

"Come on, Malia," Lydia calls, standing by the driver's side of her car getting her attention. "There's still some leftover deer from the other night."

Malia breaks into a smile, eagerly hurrying to the car and not a minute sooner Lydia and Malia are on the road.

Stiles turns to go inside, but Derek stops her with a question, "Do you have a second?"

"I do actually," She responds. "Come on in."

She leads him into the living room, that is seemingly repaired and undamaged like it was two weeks ago, where she offers him a seat on the couch. She takes a seat next to him in a comfortable chair, "I wanted to apologize for overstepping my boundaries," He tells her, which seems to surprise her. "And you are right, I did act like I knew everything about your friends and after what I witnessed tonight, I'm sorry."

"Thank you," Stiles tells him, giving him a friendly expression. "It means a lot. And to be honest, I understood where you were coming from after Lydia and Scott made some very good points that I couldn't argue with. I'm sorry too." She offers him her hand, "Are we good?"

Derek briefly stares at her hand.

In all the fights he has had with Kate, never once did it occur to him that she never made sure that things were okay with them. Nor did she never owned up in her part in causing the fights in the first place. It was always him. Always him feeling bad and apologizing just because he did something she didn't like or agreed with. Always him being the bad the guy.

He takes her hand, "Yeah, we're good." He struggles to let go of her hand when his eyes fall to her stomach. The bump had gotten bigger within the last week he saw it.

"Go ahead," Stiles offers gently. Derek looks to her giving him a warm smile, "It's only natural."

Derek reaches forward, hands slightly hesitant as his fingertips touch her stomach. That is far as he is willing to go, but to his surprise, Stiles presses a hand over his, allowing his palm to lay completely out on her stomach.

"I can feel her," He whispers in a soft tone.

"Soon, you'll be able to feel her kick," Stiles offers. She watches him as he is engrossed with her bump and Stiles swears that her heart flutters, "I want you to have something." She stands as she reaches for an envelope that is placed on the end table to the couch, "I know that this process hasn't been easy for you and Kate due to secrecy and all, but I figure you should have this."

She holds out the envelope to him, which he takes it carefully.

She watches as Derek opens the envelope, taking out the sonogram pictures that Melissa had delivered to her earlier that night. She watches his face soften even more than it did a week ago, but when he looks into her eyes, she feels something there. Something that she can't describe in words.

But she didn't need words. Because for her Derek standing up from the couch and holding her gently his arms is all she needs.

"Thank you." He mutters into her ear.

For Derek, this is hope for his kind, hope for a family, hope for the future. And he while he is unsure about how things would play out in the end; Derek knows one thing for certain. He is glad to be sharing it with Stiles.

* * *

Scott visits Stiles for breakfast the following morning, "I thought that the morning sickness was supposed to go away by this point," Scott questions.

"Your mom said it should be going away soon," Stiles groans and closing her eyes as he presses a cool cloth to her forehead. "But right now, I feel like I've been run over by a truck." She takes in a slow inhale, "I'm willing to bet that the baby is a werewolf if I feel like shit."

"You look like shit too," Scott offers.

Stiles swats at him, "Thanks you ass." Scott laughs as she misses him completely, "How are you though? Malia didn't injure you too badly?"

"Nothing a good night's sleep couldn't fix," Scott informs her. "Speaking of Malia, I heard she managed to stay human for the rest of the night."

"Really?" Stiles says with enthusiasm, "That's good."

"It is," Scott agrees, giving her a knowing tone. "Lydia told me that Derek was there last night as well."

Stiles opens one eye, "She was busy focusing on me," Stiles answers in a tone, "She didn't even realize he was there for her to attack him."

"No," Scott answers, giving her an almost judging expression. "You know that's not what I mean."

So, we're going to have this conversation…

"I don't want to talk about Derek," Stiles says, closing her eye. "Nothing happened. I'll see him when I see your mom and that's the way it should stay considering the situation."

"Why?"

Stiles knows that Scott is playing dumb, but the feelings of wanting to throw up isn't putting her in the mood of playing dumb with him.

"You know why because you haven't stop smelling my chemosignals since I got pregnant," Stiles mutters. "Seriously, I know you're doing it because you're looking out for me and the baby, but now I feel like you're just doing it to be nosy."

Scott makes a snorting sound, "Well, if it isn't the kettle calling the pot black."

Stiles makes a snort of her own, "That's not how the saying goes." She finally glances in his direction, "Besides he and Kate are having a baby together, you know? Building a family with the idea of the possibility of spending the rest of their lives together."

"In theory, Stiles, and to a woman who you, yourself, said was the Bitch of All Evil," Scott counters. "Which is kind of funny considering who her father is."

"I might have jumped the gun on that."

Lie.

"I don't know her. Besides, we really shouldn't judge her just because who her father is. Not exactly fair," Stiles counterargues. "If the Community being in an uproar about him staying with her after the fires didn't deter his relationship status with her, how I feel isn't going to change anything."

"You can't just give up on him. I haven't seen you look so enamored when you talked about anyone who wasn't Lydia." Scott tells her, "There's something here, and you can't just let yourself pretend you don't feel it because it's convenient for you."

"There's nothing convenient about this, Scott," Stiles tells him. "I'm doing what needs to be done. Just like my mother, her mother, and all the women in my family have done before me."

"Again, with the sacrificing," Scott points out. Stiles remains silent at the comment, "Is he going to be there in the room with you when the baby is born?"

Stiles wants this conversation to be over with.

"I don't know," She answers honestly. "We haven't talked about it."

"Do you want him to be?"

"I don't know. Can we stop please talking about this?"

"Can I just say one more thing?"

"Wish you wouldn't."

"I know you better than you want to admit." Scott tells her, "I also know that you have feelings for him. chemosignals or not. You just have to accept it."

* * *

Derek still thinks about the moment he shared with Stiles the night before. He knows that Stiles giving him the sonogram picture is risky, but she wasn't wrong on the process being difficult for them. Well, at least for him. In a way, having it with him made him feel like he was closer to his unborn child and admittingly closer to Stiles too.

He tucks the picture back into his jacket pocket as he makes his way to an abandoned distillery just outside of Beacon County. But when he makes his way all the inside, he sees that it is not as abandoned as he expects it to be.

Standing in the middle of the building stands an Alpha and his emissary. But it isn't just any Alpha, it's a blind one.

"You want to tell what was so important that we couldn't meet in my own home?" Derek questions him, looking around the building, "Or better in Beacon Hills."

"We need to talk about fire," Deucalion answers him, his head facing in Derek's direction. "Or more specifically the Fires of Beacon Academy and the Hale House."

Upon finishing his sentence, Boyd and Erica come out of another entrance, with Deaton behind them as they drag out a man, "You probably don't remember him, but this is your old chemistry teacher Mr. Adrian Harris." Deucalion introduces him calmly. "It seems that there is something that he would like to share with you."

"It was ten years ago," Harris claims. "And in my defense, it was before I'd gotten sober."

"We don't have all night," Erica warns him, giving him sharp snarl. "So, why don't we just focus on the details, huh?"

"I met her at a bar, didn't know she was underage." Harris shares keeping his cool, "We had a lot of drinks. A lot. She started asking me what I do, and she kept asking questions."

"Details," Erica snaps, giving the man's arm a violent jerk back that for a second Derek genuinely thought that she was going to break it.

Harris doesn't flinch at the pain, "As I said, I talked. It was fascinating stuff. How you could melt away the lock of a bank vault. How you could dissolve a body and get away with murder."

Deucalion slowly turns his head towards Derek questioning, "How you could start a fire, and get away with arson?"

"And a week later, the Hale house and Beacon Academy burn down," Harris answers. "I don't remember the girl's name, I swear, but I remember the necklace she was wearing."

Deucalion continues facing Derek as if he could see the man's reaction to the news, "Describe it."

"A silver pendant that has a small emblem, resembling the fleur-de-lis," Harris answers quickly. "On it, there is also a pattern resembling a wolf and arrows. I asked her about it. She said it was a family thing. You find the girl wearing that necklace, she's your arsonist."

Derek stays silent for a moment, processing his former teacher's words.

Derek doesn't know how long he's been silent, "Derek," Erica's voice breaks him out of his head as she places a gentle hand on his arm, "What do you want to do?"

"I need to make a phone call," He tells her before walking about the building.

* * *

Stiles is sleeping across the couch in the living room snoring away when her phone rings, closely near her ear, "Hello?" She answers in a groggy tone, not even opening her eyes.

"Stiles?" A familiar voice questions her.

"It would be embarrassing for you if it wasn't," She says.

"I'm sorry for calling, but I needed to talk to you," It says. "Something's come up and looks like I may be missing your appointment with Melissa.

It's at the mentioning of Melissa's name does Stiles open her eyes, "Derek?"

"Who did you think you were talking to."

"I wasn't entirely sure," Stiles admits honestly. "I'd probably talk anyone who calls me…" She stares at a digital clock that sits on an end table, "It's 3 a.m."

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," He apologizes. But it is the way he apologizes that causes Stiles to feel that something is wrong.

"No, it's okay. Scott and I would call each other at all hours of the night," She sits up. "Is everything okay?"

"I just hate that I have to miss the appointment," Derek tells her. "Do you think Scott or Lydia will be willing to go with you? And possibly stay with you until I get back?"

It's at the last two questions, that lets her hear the tension in his voice. Each word sounding like he is trying to keep his emotions in check without having a full-blown breakdown.

Something is wrong, she realizes. But there is no way he is going to tell her.

"I'm sure the both of them would love to," Stiles tells him.

"Good," Derek tells her. "I'll see you in a couple of weeks."

"Alright, be careful."

"I will," Derek promises her just before he disconnects the call.

Derek doesn't need to organize a mass search for the girl in question. Or needs to find the girl in general because he knows exactly where to find the arsonist and she was closer than he thought.

She has been by his side for the past 10 years.


	4. One's an incident, Two's a Coincidence

Two weeks passed since Derek returned to Beacon Hills. Two weeks of him trying to figure out how to deal with Kate's sudden disappearance, she left everything and nothing behind at the same time, and the newfound information of her being involved in the fires.

She is the one responsible for the death of his entire family. For all the lives that had been devastated after the fire. Her and her group of co-conspirators, that seemingly had no actual hunting relationship upon his research. He wasn't surprised to discover that they were all dead. Died within the past decade in various ways that didn't seem suspicious.

But Derek didn't care about the other conspirators' involvement as he did with Kate's.

She is exactly as the Community made her out to be.

He finds himself thinking about the same questions the families asked during the aftermath.

Did she find a way out just before the fire got bad? If so, why didn't she try to let others know? How is it that she claims to be in the fire when no one recalls ever seeing her during the event?

Derek shakes his head, trying to rid the questions that plague his mind. He remembers seeing her before the fire, they had met in the locker room just before his basketball championship game, and after the fire, she was dirty and covered with soot just like everyone else.

He was lucky, having to forget his jersey in his car, not being in the fire. But still, it changed his entire life.

He needs something to take his mind off the impending situation.

He is thankful when his phone rings, "Hello?"

"Derek?" Stiles' voice questions almost softly from the other end, "Hey, I'm glad I reached you."

He hears the trembling in her voice almost as if she had been crying, "Stiles, are you okay?"

"Oh yeah, don't worry I'm fine." She answers, quick and casual. "My Dad just woke up and I'm on my way to see him." She makes a sniffing noise, "I was wondering if you and Kate would like to meet him considering…"

Derek feels his stomach drop at the mentioning of Kate. He didn't want to tell Stiles what he found out about Kate just yet. She was just now in the middle of her second trimester and he didn't want to add more stress on her than she needed.

"Kate is still out of town," Derek informs her. "But I would love to meet your father."

* * *

Stiles enters Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital to find her father's primary physician, Dr. Geyer, waiting for her in the lobby, "He's awake now, huh?" Stiles questions him with hope, "That's a good sign."

"Yes and no," Dr. Geyer shares as he leads her into his office. He offers her a seat, "I fear this might be a last burst of energy before the end." He takes a seat at his desk across from Stiles, "It's not uncommon, but we don't know how long it may last, but we can only do our best to keep him comfortable while he is here with us."

Stiles is silenced by the news. When she had received the call about her father waking up, she nearly hurried out the house without any shoes on. She had been so excited to receive the news that he had finally woken up after being in a coma for the past six months.

"Stiles?"

Dr. Geyer's voice snaps her out of her head, "Sorry," She apologizes, rubbing her hand on her bump, a gesture she picked up after she and Derek shared a moment weeks before. "I was just thinking."

He gives her an understanding smile, "On sharing your news?"

"Yeah," Stiles says, giving a weak smile. "Last time, he saw me I wasn't sporting a baby bump." She takes a breath. She needs to see her dad before Derek arrives, "Can I see him now?"

"Before you go," Dr. Geyer tells her. "There's something else that you need to know."

* * *

"Dad," Stiles says, voice gone of the infliction that she is feeling. She kisses his forehead before taking a seat in the chair beside his bed. Happy as she is to see him awake and alert again, she keeps reminding herself that this was only temporary. That her father has as little as three months left to live, almost a whole two months before the baby is born.

"How are you feeling?"

Her father, the former Sheriff of Beacon Hills now the only source in keeping Gerard out of Beacon Hills, gives her a knowing smirk, "I should be asking you that question."

Stiles gives him a nervous laugh, "I guess there's a lot we need to talk about," She admits. "But I don't have a lot of time to say it."

"The father is on the way, isn't he?" He questions her lightly. Stiles gives him a nod. "Does he know?" Stiles shakes her head this time. "I'll tell him."

Stiles eyes widen at his statement, "Dad-"

"It's fine," He interrupts her gently. "More than fine. My only regret is that I put you in this position. I should've done more in handling the restoration of the Academy like I promised when I had the chance."

Stiles gives him a small smile as she places her hand over his, "You should know-"

A knock on the door interrupts her, catching their attention as the Stilinskis turn in time to see Derek walk into the room.

Stiles gives him an appreciative smile, but before she tries to introduce them, her father beats her to the punch, "Alpha Hale," His tone somewhat cheerful. "A pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Derek gives an embarrassed smile, "Please call me Derek," Derek says as he takes Stiles's father's hands in his own. "The pleasure is all mine. You have no idea how grateful I am to you both, Mr. Stilinski."

Her father laughs, "Call me Noah," He instructs him. "Stiles was just about to invite Scott and Lydia over while you and I have a little chat about this arrangement that the three of you have going on."

It's two, but Derek doesn't bother correcting him.

"Don't tire yourself out too much," Stiles tells him with a teasing smile as she gets up. "I'll be down the hall."

"Make sure you eat something," Derek advises her.

"I will." She gives them both an expression of hesitation before she exits the room.

A beat of silence passes over the two men before Noah breaks it with his comment of, "Ah, please have a seat." He gestures toward the chair, Stiles had previously occupied. Derek follows the suggestion. "There is a matter has been brought to my attention we need to discuss."

* * *

Derek has only been scared maybe two times in his life. The first time being when he was just a teenager when a hunter had an arrow trained on him after having just killed another shapeshifter. Thankfully, Kate managed to ambush the hunter, saving Derek's life. Which was also happened to be the first time they met, and their relationship only flourishing from there.

The second was him learning about how he was the sole survivor of his family after the fire.

Meeting with Noah Stilinski makes it the third time.

Walking into the room, the first thing Derek noticed was how much Stiles looked like her father. Same dark hair and same intelligent brown eyes. But he senses the difference between the father and daughter on another level.

While Stiles didn't have a scent, Noah had the scent of sickness emitting from him. But there is something else in the room with them. Something powerful, that Derek can't quite put his finger on.

Derek's heart beats hard in his chest as he opens his mouth to answer, unsure how to navigate this minefield. "Sir, I, uh…"

As if reading his thoughts, Noah gives him a break, "Deaton told me about the contract first. Felt I should know what my only child has been up to while I was in a coma."

The mention of Deaton confuses him, "I'm sorry?"

"There's a lot of things you don't know about what it takes to keep Beacon Hills safe from hunters," He sighs. "And I'm afraid that's my fault." He looks at Derek with a sympathetic expression, "I guess, I should start from the beginning." He sits up slightly.

"Your family isn't the only family that keeps shapeshifters and other creatures safe from hunters," Noah reveals. "You see, I married into the Stilinski family, a family that also was part of the founding of Beacon Hills, and just like the Hale family and all the other families with supernatural abilities and connections, the Stilinski members exhibited unique abilities that were different from other families that allowed them to maintain the balance of nature."

Derek stares at him in understanding, "You're a family of druids," He realizes, finally getting the answer to a question he has been wanting to ask. "That's the reason why Stiles doesn't have a scent."

"Yes and no," Noah answers. "Yes, because all members of the Stilinski family were born with druidic abilities and no because Stiles circumstances are different than most druids." Noah takes a deep breath, "The reason for that being is because of the fire of Beacon Academy."

"I thought there weren't any casualties in that fire?"

"Officially no," Noah answers, leaving the rest unsaid.

"How?"

"If you're asking how Stiles died, that's not answer she or I could give you," He tells him. "If you're asking how she is alive," He pauses for a moment. "I'm sure Deaton had told you about something called a Nemeton."

Derek nods, "It's what draws shapeshifters and others to Beacon Hills. Some can't describe it as more than a feeling like they were drawn to come here."

"The Nemeton is more than just that, it is a source of untapped power that had remained dormant for many years," Noah explains to him. "But on the night of the fires, Claudia made the ultimate sacrifice, human sacrifice, to save your schoolmates and gave the Nemeton back its power. Thus, bringing Stiles back."

Derek lets out a breath of disbelief, "She's the Nemeton?"

"Not exactly," Noah tells him. "When Stiles came back, she was different," He explains. "She became more than just a druid. She became a Spark, due to possessing Nemetonic powers, that hunters, like the Argent family, don't know much about, but would love fill their bestiary with."

Derek questions, sitting back in his chair, "Who else knows?"

"Scott, Lydia, myself and Melissa. We kept didn't want to endanger the Community's safety," He answers. He notices Derek wearing a peeved expression, "Please, don't be mad at Stiles. She's only doing what our family has done for years." Derek stares at him, "Which is providing aid to you and your family, and other families, from the shadows."

"That's the real reason she interviewed for the surrogacy," Derek says more to himself rather than to Noah. It kills him a bit knowing that information, but at the same time, he remembers her words from her interview with Boyd.

" _This is a business transaction, anyone who states otherwise really hadn't thought the whole situation through."_

She had been right. He hadn't thought about the whole situation. He didn't expect his now psychotic ex-girlfriend to turn on him or be responsible for the very thing that nearly destroyed everything and everyone.

He didn't expect to feel the things he did for Stiles either…

"Derek," Noah calls to him. "Are you alright?"

No, he wasn't.

"If you know about the surrogacy then you know about Gerard."

Noah nods his head, "From what I understand they are just rumors."

"I'm afraid they might just be more than rumors," Derek tells him in a soft voice. He shares what he has learned from Deucalion and his former chemistry teacher and Kate's timely disappearance. "It can't be a coincidence."

"I'm willing to bet that it's not," Noah agrees in a worried tone. "Does Stiles know?" Derek shakes his head, "She'll find out," Noah warns him. "She always finds out these types of things. And trust me, Derek, she will find out and try to handle it on her own."

Derek shakes his head, "No, she won't." His voice serious, "Because I'm going to take care of Gerard and Kate myself."

* * *

Stiles isn't surprised that she hadn't heard from Derek after meeting her father. Though, she supposes that it is fair. She had kept something big from him and she wouldn't want to talk to her either. She'll wait when he's ready, right now she just wanted to spend as much time with her father she had left.

She stays at the hospital that night, but come the following morning, she leaves to repack her overnight bag to discover two twin werewolves standing guard just outside her father's room.

"Uhhh…"

"Morning Stiles," One of the twins tells her. "Alpha Hale sent us to escort you home."

There is something about how the werewolf used Derek's title that made her feel uneasy.

"Okay…" She says, unsure what to say in the situation. "Why would-"

The ding of an elevator catches her attention as Lydia and Scott get off, "That will be unnecessary," Lydia informs the twins in a business manner, "We can take it from here."

The twins exchange glances with each other before nodding their heads.

"Let me know if anything changes," Stiles tells them as Scott and Lydia lead her in the opposite direction that they entered.

"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?" She questions unable to bear the tension and silence between her two friends. "Who were those guys?"

"Derek will explain everything at the house," Scott tells her. "We shouldn't keep him waiting."

Scott and Lydia told her little to nothing about what Derek wanted to see her for. At her home no less, when the hospital was legit closer to him.

She walks into her home to find Erica and Boyd carrying bags through her home, "He's outback," Erica informs her before looking to Lydia and Scott, "We should let them have their space."

Stiles expects her friends to argue with the idea, but to her surprise, Scott and Lydia both comply as Boyd and Erica escort them out her home.

So, Derek must be pissed then.

Stiles makes her way through the living room and out the back porch with Derek sitting at the table that had been left out since the first time he met Stiles' friends with his back facing her.

"You know after the fires," Derek says to the air. "Everyone warned me about Kate, but I didn't listen. I mean, how could I? I just lost my entire family and then my girlfriend was being accused of being the reason behind it all. I thought it was just a crazy conspiracy considering who her father was." He takes a breath, "But if I were honest, I had some suspicions myself. Many things happened that night that didn't make sense. People in the fire claimed to have never seen her…" He faces her, revealing his red eyes. There's a hint of anger in them, the sadness long gone. "Two weeks ago, I discovered that the woman I've spent most of my life with has been lying to me for the past 10 years. And just yesterday I found out the woman carrying my child has been hiding secrets of her own."

Stiles takes a seat next to him, entwining her hands together, "What do you want to know?"

"If she doesn't inherit my power, will she inherit yours?"

"It depends," Stiles answers. "Due to the lycanthropic gene being more dominant, there's a slim chance that she will have druidic abilities," She clasps her hands together. "If you are asking if it's possible for her to get Nemetonic powers, then I don't know." She wrinkles her nose, "We think there's a chance, but there isn't a manual on inheriting powers genetically that came from a sacrificial tree."

Derek thinks about the answer for a moment, "How long have you been doing this?" He gestures around them, "All of this."

"Since you became the Alpha with Deaton's help of course," Stiles answers. "Deaton focused on making sure that you were ready to handle your new status; Dad and I focused on rehabilitating shapeshifters and other creatures affected by the fire, which was probably best considering the whole Nemeton thing." The wind blows a cool breeze on them, "I'd understand if you don't want to tell me, but who knows about Kate?"

"Only a handful of people," Derek answers honestly. "I don't want word to get out and cause an outbreak of panic."

"Probably for the best right now," Stiles agrees. "So, how do you want to handle it?"

"You aren't going to be handling anything," He tells her in a stern tone. "You're going to focus on the pregnancy while I track Kate and her father down before they do any damage to Beacon Hills." He gives her a pointed finger, "You aren't going to fight with me on this either, understand?" His eyes then go the Alpha red, but even though he is asserting his authority over her, his voice is gentle, "You can fight with me on anything else, but not this."

Derek knows he is breaking Stiles' rule in her home. But he doesn't care if she is giving him a stoned stare right now.

Kate is his problem that he needs to solve.

"Okay," Stiles finally agrees, much to his surprise.

Her willingness to agree with his terms comes as a surprise considering what her father had told him, but Derek takes it as a win.

* * *

Over the week, Derek spent most of his time focusing on the search for Gerard and Kate with no results, while Stiles focused on spending as much time as she had left with her father and planning the lacrosse scrimmage that Scott and the others thought would be a good idea in celebration of the reopening of Beacon Academy in the upcoming month.

"I don't get lacrosse," Derek comments as he and Stiles make their way to BHHS's lacrosse field.

"There's nothing to get," Stiles tells him with her phone in her face. "It's a sport that Scott and the others, who didn't transfer to Devenford Prep, played attending here." She looks up to him and smiles at him, "Besides this will be the perfect thing to get your mind off the situation, at least for a while. You deserve a break."

"I still don't think we should've moved forward with this," Derek tells her. "This is the exact type of place Gerard would use to attack or at least a give warning."

"Gerard's smart, but he's not stupid." She places a comforting hand on his arm, "If he tried to pull something now, he'd be caught." She starts pulling him towards the stands, "Now come on, we need to find a good seat," Stiles declares as the warning whistle for the beginning of the game blows.

"Ready for us to kick your ass?" Brett questions, his rival, and friend, Liam Dunbar, as they positioned themselves in the ready position for the game.

Liam gives him a cocky smile, "Bring it on."

* * *

"I thought you said they were supposed to be good?" Derek questions Stiles in the middle of the second quarter. While he knows that the game is just a scrimmage with no real victory, he is expecting to see what Stiles had constantly been bragging about. But according to the scoreboard, Scott's team was losing badly.

"I never said they were good," Stiles laughs beside him just as they watch a player get knocked to the ground. "I said they didn't suck." She bumps her shoulder to him, "If you want, I'm sure they'd love to have you out on the field."

Derek sees a smirk on her, suggesting that she is teasing him, "Maybe next time."

He watches as the same lacrosse player from before ramming another player, who doesn't even have the ball, to the ground. "Isn't that player playing a tad aggressive?"

"Brett and Scott will handle it," She tells him even though a small piece of her prayed that Scott and Brett would handle the situation in an orderly fashion.

* * *

On the field, Liam, Scott, and Brett watch from the other end of the field as the player that Derek questioned about runs down another player who has a hard time getting up, but they see something that the others don't. This player has glowing orange eyes.

"That needs to not be happening," Brett tells him.

"I got this," Scott answers as he runs up to the player as everyone reset themselves for the game. "Kira, I know that you're possibly the youngest player, but maybe you should ease up on the other players."

Kira defends herself, "I'm trying to win."

"But you didn't even have the ball."

This statement triggers a change in Kira, "Stay out of my way." She warns him, in a voice that wasn't her own.

Brett walks up to Scott after witnessing the exchange as Kira stalks away, "You got a plan?"

Scott looks to the bleachers and sees that Stiles is watching them intensely, "I'm going to need your help with it."

The whistle blows again, and the game is back in play as the players line in their ready positions, "Down... Set..."

Another whistle is blown, but before Kira can make a move to ram into any more of his teammates, Brett knocks her down to the ground.

"Not so tough now, are you?" Brett teases her.

Kira takes the bait very well, getting up from the ground in retaliation and knocking Brett in the head using her stick.

Once more a whistle is blown and a referee comes out onto the field, "You!" He points to Kira, "You're done. Get off the field!"

"That was perfect." Scott praises Brett at his side as they watch Kira stalk off the field, "Thanks, dude."

* * *

"See? I told you they would handle it," Stiles says as she giving Kira a concerned expression. "I better go check on her though, she seems highly agitated."

"Stiles relax," Lori tells her as she sits on Stiles' other side. "I'll go check on her, you just enjoy the game."

Stiles gives her a suspicious glance, but Lori's face betrays nothing, "Fine."

As Lori takes off to follow Kira, Stiles looks to the field and see that Brett and Scott are proud of themselves, seeing that they fist bump each other.

She thinks that maybe she should start taking her own and Lori's advice as well and enjoy the game.

* * *

Kira storms through the double doors of BHHS muttering in Japanese with Lori hot on her trail. Lori tries calling out to Kira speaking Japanese herself, "Daijōbudesuka?"

This seems to get Kira's attention as she turns to face Lori. She repeats the question back at Lori in a mocking accent as if to make fun of Lori's accent just before swinging her lacrosse stick at Lori, causing the young werewolf to slam into a door.

Lori bounces back quickly and punches Kira, who doesn't appear to be affected by the assault.

Instead, Kira swings her lacrosse stick again at Lori's head. Luckily, Lori dodges the swing, making Kira lose her footing.

Lori grabs at the lacrosse stick, but Kira doesn't let go and the two try to push the other back.

Lori manages to overpower Kira, slamming her into a wall. This doesn't prompt Kira in releasing the stick as she pushed against the wall, but Lori maintains her footing and swings both Kira and the stick into some lockers and onto the floor.

From the floor, Kira glares, "Kira, snap out of it!" Lori cries out to her, nerved by the glare.

Kira stands up from the floor and kicks Lori right into the Girls' locker room.

Outside on the bleachers, Derek picks up the sound of Kira and Lori fighting. He looks to see if Stiles notices the disturbance, but Stiles is apparently into the game as she yells at Liam to hurry down the field.

* * *

Kira slams Lori into one of the metal fences in the locker room, "Kira..." Lori tries as she uses a lacrosse stick of her own, pushing Kira off her. It is enough for Lori to get her footing back as Kira pulls apart her stick, throwing the net to the side.

Lori takes a swing with her stick and Kira blocks it with her own. She goes for a swing to Kira's head, but Kira ducks, causing Lori to lose balance and letting Kira roundhouse kick her into a fence.

Kira then pushes her stick against Lori, who manages to use her stick and block the attack.

Just like in the hallway, the two try to overpower each other to a point where Kira's eyes give off their orange glow and Lori's eyes flash yellow with her fangs retracting.

With a roar, she pushes Kira back, but Kira doesn't falter much, bringing her stick down on Lori, splitting the girl's lacrosse stick into two.

Lori is shocked momentarily but moves when Kira tries to jab her with the end of her lacrosse stick. It gets stuck in the fence temporarily, but she rips it out as she tries to swing it at Lori, who blocks her attack with the two pieces of her stick.

Lori manages to hold down Kira's stick with one piece of her lacrosse stick and uses the other to swipe it against her face, knocking Kira off balance.

The two girls eye each other carefully, but Kira then snaps her stick into two, copying Lori. Kira gives her a little smirk as Lori stands ready.

The two then start fighting with both pieces for their sticks, blocking each other's attack.

Lori goes in for a kick, but Kira jumps back causing the girl to fall to the ground. Not giving Lori a chance to recover, Kira swings down a piece of her stick, while Lori manages to fight off the attack with a part of her own.

Kira then moved to slam both her sticks into the ground, but Lori manages to do a backward roll, right back onto her feet. She uses one hand to hold the sticks, going for a punch. However, Kira blocks it and punches Lori instead.

Kira grabbed a hold of Lori, forcing her back right into a desk, that the two roll over it and onto the ground. They continue rolling through the door into the hallway.

Kira gains the upper hand, slamming Lori into the ground, now bearing down on her.

Lori moves back on the ground as Kira stalked her way closer to her.

However, Kira is shoved forward to the ground and Lori sees that Derek is standing in front of her, "Friend of yours?" He questions her as he helps Lori to her feet.

"Kira, she hasn't been like that in a while," Lori answers her. "Something must've-"

She is interrupted when a low growl echoes through the hall. Derek turns slowly and sees that Kira's eyes are now orange and she has an aura shaped like a fox and electricity emitting all around her body.

"Don't hurt her," Lori begs him.

Which is funny to Derek because Kira looks ready to murder them.

"Kira," Derek says in a gentle tone. "Can you hear me?"

Instead of words for an answer, Kira charges at him, shoving Derek into Lori's arms as they fall to the ground.

Derek knows talking isn't going to work and does the one thing he knows that can deescalate the situation.

He lets his eyes go red and lets out a loud growl, "Kira!"

This seems to work as Kira stills as the aura disappears, "Oh, my God." She gasps confused and frightened, looking between Derek and Lori, "What did I do?"

A roar, much bigger and louder than Derek's, echoes through the hallway. Kira and Lori still at the sound as the double doors from the outside, burst open with people running and screaming, "What the hell is going on?"

Kira and Lori don't answer him as they pull Derek aside, from the stampede closing on them, into an empty classroom. For a moment, it is silent until they hear a low growl and a large shadow run past the room following the screams that now filled the school.

Derek waits a few seconds more before opening the door and seeing that the door across from them to another room has large claw marks across it.

* * *

In another part of the school, Scott is supporting a severely injured Liam with Stiles chastising him as she leads them inside, "That was probably the dumbest thing you have ever done," She leads them to an empty classroom, "Put him on the desk."

Stiles shuts the door just as a wave of screams echoes through the halls. She immediately locks the door before walking back to Liam, getting a clear look at the wounds that Liam had obtained.

Claw marks are running alongside his chest and abdomen appearing to be deep and ragged. Despite his injuries, Liam tries to sit-up, but Stiles pushes him back down gently, "Stay down."

Liam grunts in protest, "I'm okay." He claims, "I'm fine." However, he notices that Scott is making an expression that tells him otherwise, "What? Is it bad?"

"No," Scott lies.

"Very," Stiles comments, eyeing the wounds. She stands over Liam, hands outreached over his body, "God I hope this works," She mumbles as she closes her eyes as if to focus. As she does, she can feel a comforting sensation run through her arms.

She opens her eyes to see a green aura emit from her hovering hands. She then sees Liam's wounds beginning to close slowly and his breathing begins to slow down.

When the wounds finally disappear, the aura from her hands disappears, "Whoa." Stiles huffs out a relieved laugh, "Didn't think that would work."

"You good?" Scott questions as he helps sit Liam up.

"Yeah," Liam answers. "What are we going to do?"

"We need to contain Mason while we wait for Lydia," She tells them. "I'm not sure how much I can do, Brett is handling people outside the school, we need to handle people on the inside. Liam, you go and help Brett outside, Scott and I will handle the inside."

* * *

"Someone want to explain to me what that was," Derek questions between Lori and Kira.

"That was the Beast," Lori explains. "Or as we know him as Mason. He's not exactly a shapeshifter, but he can turn into a supernatural being that has its own personality. A personality that is very different from his own."

"Like me," Kira shares. "But we've had control over that side of us for years. I'm not exactly sure what triggered me."

"We can worry about that later," Derek decides. "The plan is to get everyone away from here as quickly and safely as possible." His mind immediately goes to Stiles wondering if she was okay through the chaos of the school. If something happened to her…

He shakes his head ridding the negative thought. He isn't going to think like that. Not when lives were at stake. And knowing Stiles, she is probably already working on handling the situation.

* * *

In another part of the school, people are still trying to run away from the Beast. One of them happens to trip over her own feet and fall to the ground. While she doesn't get up, she does begin backward crab-walking away from the sound of the Beast closing in on her.

She then feels a hand on her shoulder as Scott throws her roughly into a classroom and barricaded the door with his body. While looking at Scott she can see that he is bloodied, but the sound of the Beast nearing the door is heard just from the other side.

Neither tries to make a sound as they hear the steps of the Beast before a blanket of silence falls over them until the Beast suddenly starts banging against the door, just as the sound of glass shattering catches their attention, "Over here!" A voice calls out to her.

The girl turns to see Stiles urging her to move it. Scott continues barricading with his body as Stiles quickly help her out. Liam instantly takes the girl, once she's outside away from the building, while Stiles waves her hand at Scott to move.

The glass window of the door shatters, causing Scott to lose his balance just as the arm of the Beast rips through the door, "Scott!" Stiles cries out just as she witnesses the Beast rips the door and Scott out of the classroom.

The last thing Stiles hears just as her friend disappears in front of her eyes is his screams.

* * *

In the halls, Derek, Kira, and Lori still as they too hear the screams that seem to echo through the school, "What was that?" Derek questions, looking alarmed.

"It's Scott," Kira answers, looking worried.

"What's the matter with Scott?"

"The Beast." A voice answer suddenly behind them. They turn to see Lydia wearing a calculated expression. "We need to find them, and we need to find them fast."

She looks to Kira and Lori, "You two go outside and finish up rounding any stragglers from the game. After that, get to Eichen and inform them that they'll need to get a room ready." She looks to Kira specifically, "Two, if you want."

Kira nods her head, taking Lori by her hand and leads them to the closest exit.

When they are alone, Derek gives Lydia a questioning expression, "She's with him, isn't she?"

Lydia remains neutral, but she does give him an answer, "Don't ask questions, you already know the answer to."

She takes off in a fast walk with Derek matching her speed, "Do you even know where they are?"

Lydia tilts her head, "I follow the voices."

* * *

Stiles and an injured Scott run into the school library where they discover more than a dozen students hiding. Not far behind, the roars of the Beast close in on them, "Out the emergency exit!" Stiles instructs them in a whisper.

Not questioning her, but hearing the Beast getting closer, the students move to the only exit, Stiles embraces Scott tightly, her eyes close as she concentrates, "Give me five minutes," She whispers to him before she takes off running to the bookshelves.

As she does so, the Beast barges in, letting out a roar.

Scott's eyes flashed yellow as he roars back.

* * *

Stiles tries not to wince when she hears Scott's body gets thrown into a bookcase as the case topples over, sending books and other bookcases crashing to the ground. She gave him a boost in his healing ability just before leaving him behind, but it is only a matter of time before it wears off.

The Beast's roars fill the library as Stiles is forced to hear to the fight between Scott and the Beast.

She skims the shelves looking for a book, but nearly screams as Scott's body drops near the case she is searching. She hears Scott groan in pain just before his body is dragged away.

She must hurry.

* * *

Scott is then thrown into a small study area, his body crashing into a table. Scott groans in impact but still manages to muster up the strength to stand and jump towards the Beast.

Scott is now completely bloodied as he tried to get back on his feet. But his attempt appears to be useless as he no longer has the strength. Despite the fact, in knowing that he doesn't have a chance, Scott sits up to face the Beast, baring his teeth showing that he is unafraid.

As the Beast leaps at him, claws ready, Scott closes his eyes to brace for impact, but instead of pain, he feels himself being cradled in someone's arms. He opens his eyes to see that he is in Stiles's arms, his face practically in her neck, "Don't move cause, this didn't work the way I thought it would."

He moves his head slightly what she is talking about, spotting a dark powder with a hint of yellow on the ground surrounding them. Mountain Ash mixed with Yellow Wolfsbane.

"Mason!" A voice shouts.

At the call of its true name, the Beast turns away from Scott and Stiles, allowing them to see Derek, and Lydia standing by the doors.

Derek tries to remain calm at the scene before him. The Beast or rather Mason, hasn't moved to attack them yet which he should consider themselves lucky.

But seeing Stiles on the ground just behind the creature sends a chill down his spine. He needs to get to her.

Almost as if the Beast senses Derek is about to move it starts charging at them and Derek feels his body ready to fight back, but to his surprise, Lydia jumps in front of him hands clench, as waves of power emanate from her hands as she lets out a piercing scream, sending the Beast to the ground as it reverts from its giant form to a cloud of smoke before finally transforming into an unconscious Mason.

* * *

Scott wakes up, finding himself on the examination table at the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic with Lydia replacing the bandages on his torso, "Hey."

Lydia looks up from her medical aid giving him a softened smile, "Hey, yourself."

He looks around to see that they are alone in the clinic, "Where's-?"

"She's fine," Lydia answers knowingly. "You know she hates seeing either of us hurt, but Derek's with her right now. They went to figure out what happened to cause Mason and Kira's alter egos to come out." She pats down the last piece of the bandage, "They should be back in a minute." She looks at her handy work, "I'd say a goodnight's sleep and you'll be brand new tomorrow."

"You're okay," Stiles' relived voice enters the room. Scott and Lydia see Stiles and Derek standing by the threshold that separates the lobby from the room, "Oh thank God."

As she hurries to him, for a moment, Scott thinks that she is going to hugging him, but instead, Stiles's face turns into annoyance as he receives a flick to the head, "You didn't seriously think you were gonna have a chance, did you?" She questions.

"Ow!"

He gets another flick, "That was the dumbest plan, you've ever come up with." Stiles tells him, flicking him one more time.

"Are you done?" Scott questions with his hands up.

Stiles gestures at his injury, "That is why I always come up with the plans. Your plans suck."

"Now are you done?"

"Yeah," Stiles says, seemingly calm, focusing her attention on Lydia. "Thanks for taking care of him."

"Of course," Lydia gives a smile of her own before she flicks Stiles' on her forehead.

"Ow!"

"That's for going along with his plan," Lydia tells her in a stern voice. "Sit down," She orders, pointing to one of the chairs that in the room. Stiles does as she is told, "I know that you have a job to do-"

"Before you yell at me," Stiles says with her hands in defense. "Derek and I already talked it out and reached an understanding."

"Which is?"

"Starting now, you and Scott will be handling any or all situations that pertain to dealing with out of control shapeshifters or other creatures," Derek answers, getting Lydia and Scott's attention, in a rather authoritative voice. "That will include helping me find Gerard and Kate if you want to." Lydia looks to Stiles for confirmation, but she sees that Stiles is seething as he speaks. She is rather amused by Stiles' behavior. Derek continues, "Stiles will stick with focusing on the pregnancy and the restoration of Beacon Academy."

"Well, I'm glad you were able to talk some sense into my friend," Lydia says in a grateful tone. "How did you manage to do that?"

"I'm right here," Stiles says, not impressed at the tone. "So rather than picking on me, we should tell you what we learned from Kira and Mason."

"Which was nothing," Derek inputs. "Did Brett and Liam manage to get everyone else out safely? No injuries or death?"

"Physically, aside from Scott and Liam, no injuries or death." Lydia sighs, "Lucky for us, the few humans that were at the scrimmage, couldn't recall exactly what they saw so with the help of the connections we have at the Sheriff's station, we've spun off as a bear attack."

"Bear attack?" Derek questions in judgment.

"It's not great," She admits. "But it was the best thing we could come up with. We'll send out a notice tomorrow saying the animal was caught and been released safely back to the woods."

Lydia notices Scott looking rather uneased, "What's going in that head of yours?"

"Fighting the Beast felt different," Scott reveals to them. "With what history we know about it, it didn't feel like it was going on a murderous rampage. It felt the exact opposite."

"How opposite?"

"It was scared," He answers. "It was completely and utterly terrified."

Lydia furrows her brow in confusion, "What could've caused Mason to be terrified?"

"Don't know," Stiles tells them. "But he and Kira have both agreed to stay at Eichen at least just for tomorrow to make sure that everything else is okay." She looks to Derek and sees that he is wearing a peeved expression on his face, "You think Gerard or Kate has something to do with this, don't you?"

"And you don't?" Derek questions back, looking at the three of them. "We have no idea what they have been planning or doing for the past ten years."

"He's got a point," Scott tells them.

She gives him a thoughtful glance, "Dad always said, _One's an incident, Two's a Coincidence_ …" She thinks silently for a moment, "If you truly think that Gerard and Kate have something to do with this then it's time you tell the others about what happened before they cross a line."

Derek gives her a serious expression of his own, "They crossed the line a long time ago."

Stiles nods her head in agreement just as the back entrance of the clinic opens with Boyd, Erica, Liam, and Lori, who is holding onto a lacrosse stick that has blood on it, "It's Brett's and we haven't seen him since the scrimmage, but we heard gunshots."


	5. Gerard's Return

Somewhere in the woods of Beacon Hills, Brett Talbot is running for his life with an arrow, the tip protruding out of his back, sticking out of his chest. He looks behind him to see if anyone is close behind him. There isn't and he takes a break in hiding behind a tree. The wound from the arrow is starting to irate him, but first he is hoping that he can call backup without giving off his location. He pulls out his phone and sees that he still has no signal, but time is a factor.

He wraps a hand around the weapon's shaft, taking a deep breath before he tries to pull it out. It doesn't take much for the pain to be unbearable for him and he has to stop. He tries another method he was taught and looks at the tree. He faces the tree, breaking the fletching piece. With the leftover shaft remaining, Brett forces himself up against the tree with a much strength as possible, forcing the arrow to run all the way through his body.

His breathing finally returns somewhat normal now that the weapon is removed. He picks up from the ground and sees that it has a silver arrow tip. Which explains why his body feels like it is on fire. But he knows he can't go home and risk leading the hunter to his home. He's going to have to take care of them first. He takes out his phone and gets an idea.

Within five minutes, Brett is able to hide in the trees at his phone goes off due to the timer that he has set, and he waits for his pursuer to show their face.

It doesn't take long as the woman who shot him goes to his line of vision and he immediately throws the arrow back at her, but to his surprise she is pulled back by someone else as it hits the tree instead.

Brett reveals himself from the shadows and a for second is stun at the person who has aided her.

He's remembers hearing the stories about the fires of the Hale House and Beacon Academy. The man who had supposedly been behind them both.

Gerard Argent.

* * *

Back in the animal clinic, Scott, Derek have already gone with Liam and Lori to find Brett. This left Stiles, Lydia, and Erica in the examination room.

"I don't see why you both had to stay behind," Stiles claims, looking to Erica and Boyd. "Wouldn't more werewolves have a better chance in finding a lost one?"

Boyd gives Stiles a no-nonsense stare, "Nice try, Stilinski."

"It's almost like you guys don't trust me to stay put," Stiles says with feigned hurt.

"No, some of us just know better," Erica comments easily. She looks to Lydia expectedly, "Please tell me you have a way that could possible help them find Brett faster."

Lydia gives her an unsure expression, "There's one thing that we could try."

* * *

Out in the woods, the older werewolves and younger werewolves arrive at the tree that Brett had previously been hiding by. Liam finds the arrow that Brett threw at the woman hunter still in the tree.

"He's fighting back," Derek comments as he examines how deep the arrow is in the tree.

Lori walks over to the tree, "And now we know he's alive." She tears the arrow out of the tree, "But he's still hurt." She examines the blood on the shaft, "We need to find him," She says urgently. "He needs to know we're here."

She sets off to howl, but Scott stops her with a simple question, "You want the hunter to know we're here, too?"

"He's new," Liam reminds them. "We can take him."

"What if Brett howls back?" Derek questions the two younger wolves, "He'll lead the hunter right to him."

"No, we could find him first," Scott says with assurance. "There's no human that can track sounds faster than we can. And we've got the advantage," Scott continues, earning himself a questioning brow from Derek. "We've done this before," Scott answers without being asked, "We know what we're doing, Derek." Scott takes a sniff in the air, "How come I can't catch his scent?"

Lori doesn't smell the air, but already knows the answer, "He's masking it."

"Does he know not to do that?" Derek asks aloud, but Lori doesn't give him an answer.

While the others had been having their own conversation, Liam has been searching for clues in searching for Brett. He discovers some tracks, "He went this way," He declares, before taking off with Lori following him.

"I didn't want to say this with the two them," Derek says to Scott. "But whatever Brett tried to do didn't work. I'm starting to think that maybe this hunter is not such an amateur."

Scott nods his head in agreement, "Or maybe he's learning by using an inexperienced werewolf." Brett lays down a false trail of blood and tracks to throw the hunters off his trail. He seems to be bleeding black now due to the poison in Gerard's arrow. He ties up the wound, so he won't leave any more blood behind. He sees a squarish rock and gets an idea.

* * *

Back at the animal clinic, Boyd, Erica watch Stiles and Lydia set up for their plan. Lydia sits on a stool with a pencil in hand and a piece of paper in front of her. She gives Stiles a head nod and Stiles lights up a Bunsen burner that sits in front of her. Lydia starts focusing on the blue flame.

"Now she just magically writes down all the answers?" Erica questions Stiles.

"It's not quite that simple," Stiles answers.

"Shocker," The she-wolf mutters.

"The silence, the darkness, and the light will allow her to find a more comfortable, relaxed, trance-like state." Stiles explains, "The same state that usually comes when her abilities take hold of her."

"She ever tried this before?" Erica questions as they watch Lydia focus on the flame, "Initiating a premonition? "

"A few times," Stiles answers with a minor shoulder roll. "They usually find her."

"QUIET," Lydia suddenly snaps, shocking everyone. She clears her throat, "Please."

Erica and Stiles mutter their apologizes, but Erica, for some reason, still asks a question not directed at Stiles, but to Boyd, who has been silent, "Think this will it help us find him?"

"I don't know," Boyd answers. "But if Brett's dead, I think she'd already know."

"Do you think it's working?"

"It might if you stop talking," Stiles snaps at them in whisper. She takes a deep breath realizing the tone she has used, "I'm sorry, but please shut the hell up."

Erica starts looking around the room as sees Newton's cradle sitting on one of Deaton's counters. Unable to help herself, she reaches out for the Newton's cradle sitting on the lab station and plucks at one of the steel balls.

Boyd, who recognizes her anxious body language, realizes what Erica's doing just a second too late and a loud "click" fills the air before he can stop the kinetic energy toy from moving.

Stiles eyes turn into a glare and she is ready to kick them out of the room all together when she sees the flame go out and Lydia starts writing hard and fast.

* * *

Scott, Derek, Liam and Lori have some to the spot where Brett left the false blood trail, "The trail is gone," Derek realizes looking around them.

"Maybe he just stopped bleeding," Liam offers when he sees Lori's worried expression. "I think we should split up." Liam suggests as Lori starts examining the surrounding area. "Lori and I go this way; you guys go that way."

"Or maybe we go in four directions?" Lori offers, still trying to find a clue.

Scott offers with no actual meaning to it, "We should stick together."

"We have the advantage," Liam argues back. "It's four against one."

"Not if we split up," Derek says, backing up Scott.

Liam isn't pleased with Derek's involvement in his and Scott's conversation, "No offense, Derek, but I've been doing this type of thing without your help. The entire Community has." Liam tells him. "So, I think I can make a decision."

Derek realizes that Liam is not wrong, but he also knows that Liam fails to forget that he is a more experienced werewolf than, but Derek doesn't remind him of this, instead he says, "Well, if you're deciding to do something stupid and die, then go ahead."

He didn't mean it.

"It's one hunter," Liam presses. "One amateur who doesn't know what they're doing."

"The hunter," Scott says suddenly, interrupting the feud between Derek and Liam. He is kneeling to the ground where tracks seemed to have been hidden. "He's covering his tracks." He examines the tracks more, "There's another."

"Two of them?"

"Maybe more," Scott breathes out. He looks to Derek for guidance, "How many hunters have you seen out here before?"

"A lot," Derek answers honestly. He gives Liam a knowing glance, "Still wanna split up?"

"We can deal with it," Liam says, not backing down from. "We just need to find Brett's trail."

"No, we don't," Lori says. They see that she is standing by a pile of rocks, "Rock balancing. Before we moved here, an Alpha named Satomi taught us." She walks to them with confidence, "It's him, and I know where he's going."

* * *

"I thought this was supposed to help us find Brett," Erica questions as she stares at what Lydia has drawn. "What does a face looking distress have to do with anything in finding him?"

"Considering the situation, I feel like that it's perfectly fitting," Stiles says. "But it doesn't exactly look like him."

Lydia is unimpressed by both Stiles and Erica's commentary on her drawing, "I never claimed to be an artist."

"What does it mean?" Boyd questions to her.

She looks to him dumbfounded, "I have no idea." She examines the picture she has drawn herself. Erica is right about it looking like face that is distressed and Stiles is right about it not looking like Brett at all. It doesn't show any resemblance of anyone that they knew. Hell it... "Doesn't even look like a person," She says aloud.

"I could've told you that," Erica says. "Looks more like a goblin or something."

"Maybe goblins do exist after all," Stiles offers half-heartedly.

"They don't," Boyd answers in a knowing tone. "Not every mythological creature that humans learn about exists."

Stiles gives Boyd a glance before focusing back on the picture, "Well, if Lydia didn't draw this picture to help us find Brett, then it's obviously a warning about something else."

"It's been peaceful here, up till now, for nearly a decade," Erica points out. "Why would you automatically assume that it's a warning?"

"For you guys living within the City of Beacon Hills, yes," Stiles answers. "Not exactly for those who've been living in the Preserve."

"Trust the Banshee when she says, it's always something else," Lydia warns to the two werewolves.

* * *

Lori has lead Derek, Scott, and Liam into tunnels that run under Beacon Hills. She spots a few droplets of blood that appear to be black, "He's been poisoned." She tells them, "That's why he's not healing." The calming manner Lori has been presenting all evening breaks down into a panic, "What if he only has a few hours to live?"

"Well, if we howl, we can find him," Liam says looking pointedly at Derek.

"That's too risky," Derek says easily.

"Who cares about the risk?" Lori questions him, "He could be dying."

"He's still moving." Derek places a calming hand on her shoulder, "We just need time to think."

Derek had hoped that the comforting gesture would subside Lori's panic, but it doesn't as she pushes him away, "I need him to know that I'm here," She says. "That I'm coming for him."

"Lori's right." Liam says with certainty, "He has to know we're here."

He lets out a loud roar that echoes through the tunnels.

* * *

Brett is lying across a pipe high above the tunnel floor. He hears the howl and struggles to lift his head. He hears footsteps and hopes for a moment that his rescue is nearby, but his hopes are dashed when he sees that it just Gerard and the woman who shot him.

"How did he get behind us?" The woman questions.

"He didn't," Gerard answers in a knowing tone. "That wasn't Brett," Gerard tells the woman, "That was a werewolf making a mistake."

The woman questions the old hunter clearly worried, "His friends are coming for him?

Gerard seems rather unbothered by the fact, "It's safe to assume they're coming for us."

Gerard starts leading them out the tunnel, "Why are we going back?" The woman asks when she sees that Gerard is heading in the same direction that the howl came from, "What if there's a pack?"

"Oh, there is," Gerard answers with certainty, "We can count on it."

The woman grabs him by the arm "Wait, how many are we talking about?"

Gerard gives her a disapproving expression, "That's not the right question," He chastises her. "You're thinking from a place of fear," Gerard tells the woman.

"I'm thinking logically and mathematically," The woman argues back. "Two of us against too many of them."

"Try thinking strategically." Gerard suggests to her.

The woman seems to take Gerard's words into consideration, "So, what's our strategy?"

"Right now?" Gerard questions back, "Divide and conquer."

A drop of black goo drips from the bandaged wound. He manages to catch it before it falls too far and alerts the hunters below.

* * *

The Preserve members and Derek continue searching the tunnels, "Why didn't he answer?" Lori questions in panic.

"Maybe, he didn't hear us," Liam offer to her.

"Maybe, he can't," Derek says.

Lori, not watching where she's going, trips a wired trap. Scott sees it at the last second, "Lori, no!" and pushes her out of the way. He catches a spiked spear in the gut.

Lori and Liam work quickly together to remove the spike while Derek applies pressure to Scott's wound, "They knew we were coming," Scott says with shortness of breath.

"Don't talk, just heal, and let us figure this out," Derek orders him.

"They've been a step ahead of us the whole time," Scott tells him.

"I'm sorry, but I can't wait around," Lori claims as she starts pacing, "We have to go. We still have the numbers, three-to-two. We're faster, and we're stronger."

"They're smarter," Derek argues with her indicating at Scott.

"I don't care who's smarter or faster or whatever," Lori argues back. "My brother's going to die."

"Something's not right," Scott mutter shaking his head. "That arrow, the trip wire, the poison."

"These aren't amateurs," Derek realizes.

"But they've never fought us before," Liam argues.

"And you've never fought hunters, Liam," Derek nearly snaps at him. "We need to stick together."

"I need to go," Lori nearly snapping herself. She takes a deep breath, "He's my brother."

"I understand that," Derek tells her in calming tone. "But you're not going alone."

"I'll go with her," Liam offers.

Scott shakes his head at the offer, "Liam, you don't know who they are or what they're capable of."

"I know that you guys don't talk about what happened 10 years ago a lot," Liam tells the older werewolves. "And I get it, but I know who we are. We never give up, especially when it's someone innocent, when it's someone alone, when it's one of our friends."

Scott shudders as he takes a breath, "Okay, go, go. All of you, I'll catch up." Lori and Liam don't hesitate to take off while Derek continues remains at Scott's side, "I just need a minute."

Derek gives him a strained expression, "You just need to shut the hell up."

* * *

At the animal clinic, Stiles clenches to her stomach gasping in pain, alarming Erica and Boyd, "I'm alright," She tells them with a hand stopping them from coming closer.

To Erica and Boyd, she doesn't sound alright. She sounds like she is struggling to breathe.

"The two of you clear of the table," Lydia suddenly directs them, and they move without question. "Stiles you need to lay down," Lydia says as she guides Stiles to the table and helps her lay down.

Stiles continues breathing hard and heavy as sweat begins to form.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Boyd says.

"No hospital," Lydia says as she starts wetting paper towels. "Erica, place the towels on her head." Erica moves to the sink where Lydia is soaking towels by the bunch, "Boyd, I'm going to need you to make sure that she actually stays down."

Boyd nods his head, "What the hell is happening to her?"

"Scott," Stiles gasps out, trying to sit up. "Scott's in trouble."

"Scott is going to be fine," Lydia tells her, as Boyd continues holding Stiles down on the table. "You won't be, if you try to move and find him."

"But-"

"Stiles," Lydia says sharply. "Usnąć."

At the command, Erica watches in amazement as Stiles's eyes close and she stops moving, "There are things that we can't share with you for your own protection." She looks to Erica face completely serious, "That's why I'm going to have to request that you and Boyd keep what happened here tonight to yourselves."

Boyd shakes her head, "I don't think-"

"I know that what I'm asking is a lot," Lydia interrupts with understanding. "But for the safety of you both, I need you to do it, both of you." She focuses back on Stiles, replacing the towel on her forehead as Stiles makes a hard grunt that causes her body to jerk slightly, "What the hell is he doing?"

* * *

Lori and Liam have come across the same room where Brett had been hiding from Gerard and the woman but it seems that they have lost the trail, "Which way?"

However, Lori seems to be just as lost as he is, "I don't see anything." She answers now becoming frantic, I don't hear anything."

"We'll find something." Liam tells her with absolute confidence, "He's gonna be okay."

Lori knows that he is trying to make her feel better, but it does seem to work, "How do you know?"

"'Cause, he's strong," Liam answers easily. "He's really strong. During my training with Scott and Stiles, he'd knocked me down on the lacrosse field more than once." Lori smiles at the memory having being part of the training sessions that Liam endured, "Now, when I see him coming, I do everything I can to get the hell out of the way."

"Scott and Stiles were possibly the most questionable teachers we could ever have had," Lori laughs with a sniff, which causes her to pick up something in the air, "Do you smell that?"

Liam takes a breath too, "It's... It's sour." He looks around the room, "It smells like something's rotting."

"I think it's the poison." Lori realizes, "That's how we'll find him."

* * *

Derek manages to have Scott sit-up against the wall of the tunnel and notices how big the trap is, "How did we miss that?"

"We underestimated them," Scott answers in a panted breath.

"But, how did they rig a trap that big tonight with us running down here in the tunnels blindly?"

"They didn't, it was rigged a long time ago," Scott revels to him. "And for you it may seem like we have been running down here blindly, but we haven't. We've been through these tunnels a hundred times."

"And whoever this hunter is, he's been through them a hundred more," Derek informs him. "And he knew we'd be here, he was waiting for us, tracking us. He was prepared and we weren't."

"Derek, there's something I've got to tell you," Scott tells him, looking him in the eye. "I'm sure Stiles told you about our first encounter with the Beast." Derek nods his head, "I'm sure she didn't tell you the whole story."

Of course, she didn't.

"We didn't know much about the Beast or on how to catch it and there was only one person who knew more than we did," Scott tells him. "Someone that we never wouldn't have asked for help, if there had been another choice."

"Who was that hunter?"

"Gerard." Scott tells him, "He was only able to get through Beacon Hills when Stiles's dad had first gotten sick." He takes a breath, "And now with him…"

Scott leaves the rest unsaid. They all knew, it was just a matter of time.

Derek clenches his jaw that name and the fact, "Gerard's known for only using lethal means. The only thing this did was slow us down.

"And split us up," Scott inputs with realization dawning on him. "He's planning something else, another trap with Liam and Lori are walking right into it."

Realizing this, Scott struggles to get to his feet. Derek supports him with one of Scott's arms over his neck and they take off down the tunnel after the younger werewolves.

* * *

Brett is slumped over a crate. He has black goo leaking from both eyes, his nose, and mouth.

"Brett!" A voice calls to him, getting his attention. He looks to see Lori, falling to her knees as she gives him an expression of relief.

"You found the rocks," Brett responds with some hope in his voice.

Lori brushes some of his hair away. She gives him a chuckle, "Yeah, I found the rocks."

Brett looks from his sister to Liam, "You're a dumbass for doing this."

Liam is amused by the statement, "Oh, is that your way of thanking me?"

"No," He answers as Liam and Lori offer him some support, "That's my way of calling you a dumbass." But a smile plays on his face, "But, thanks."

An explosion, followed by a series of bright lights flash and the tunnel begins to fill with smoke, "They're coming."

They hear a warbling sound coming from the opposite direction and take off in its direction.

* * *

Scott collapses to the floor of the tunnel as Derek once again tries to make an attempt to take away his pain, "Let me try again."

"It's not going to work," Scott tells him. "I don't think that we should waste any more time."

"Why isn't it working?" Derek questions not listening to a word Scott has said, "How come I can't take your pain?"

"Because it's already being taken by someone else," Scott tells him. "It just takes a while." Derek is confused about the statement because there is obviously no one in the tunnels with them, "It's the Nemeton." He answers, "When it brought Stiles back, it didn't just change her. It changed the people who held a strong connection to her, a kind of emotional tether. Because of that, we get to experience a taste of what power the Nemeton holds."

"It takes away your pain."

Scott nods his head, "More or less."

"She didn't tell me that," Derek comments.

"Honestly, there's a lot of things that we haven't told you," Scott confesses. "It's either because we fully don't understand ourselves or it's for your protection."

"But what about my child's?"

"Stiles wouldn't have done this surrogacy, if she or the Nemeton were going to harm your baby in any way possible," Scott informs him. "Your child is under the care and protection of the safest person in Beacon Hills."

* * *

The Talbot siblings and Liam are closing in on an outlet to the surface, but as they get closer Liam hears a warbling sound, coming from a separate part of the tunnel. He searches for the sound and finds a sonic device and realizes they're being herded and hurries back the way he came, "Lori, wait!"

Bu the Talbot siblings are too far ahead and already up the ladder to the outside.

They exit a manhole on Muse Street. Just as a large truck, that doesn't slow down slams into both Brett and Lori.

Still in the tunnel, Liam wolfs out and leaps up to the street, finding Lori on the ground beside Brett, holding his hand, "I couldn't take away his pain." She cries softly, before she dies.

Liam roars, bearing his fangs, claws, and glowing eyes to a growing crowd of onlookers who point in his direction.

In both the tunnel and animal clinic, both Scott and Lydia recognize the roar, "Liam."

The driver of the truck gets out, spots Gerard and the woman in the distance and nods in their direction, "You set this up," She realizes.

Gerard is seemingly proud of him, "Of course I did."

"Is this part of the lesson?" She questions as she looks at the crowd of onlookers.

"Everything's a lesson, every moment with me," He advises her. "And if there's one thing you learn today, it's this, the best way to build an army is through fear."

* * *

Stiles moves in a robotic manner the following morning as the events from last night replayed in her head. There is so much that she has do. She still needed to contact Lily to let her know about what happened to Brett and Lori, needed to contact their former Alpha too just out of pure respect, needed to find a way to protect the residents of the Preserve and…

"Stiles," Derek's voice snaps Stiles' out of her thoughts. She looks up to find Derek, Scott, and Lydia giving her worried expressions, "Are you feeling okay?"

Stiles side steps the question, looking to Scott, "How's Liam holding up?"

Scott shakes his head, "Not too great, he didn't want to get out bed this morning."

"Can't say I blame him," Lydia replies. "From what I've gathered, anyone on the road had a clear view of him." She crosses her arms, "No doubt in my mind, old rumors have started up again."

"Then we're just going to have to do what we did back then," Stiles decides. "We're just going to have to pretend that we're normal just like everybody else."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay peeps, I know I don't have a consistent update schedule for this fic, but it's going to go on hiatus for awhile due to personal reasons. Should be back in late May or early June. Stay safe and stay home!


	6. Virtue and Vice

During the founding of the Beacon Hills, parents of the Community had been concerned about the safety and well-being of their kids when they start exhibiting their supernatural status at the age of 13. While some of the kids seemed to have easily gained control over their powers, others did not and there was worry about the safety of their kids and their human companions.

These concerns led to the founding of Preserve in Beacon and Beacon Academy within the wooded areas of Beacon Hills, making it an ideal location for a family of shapeshifters and other creatures.

Just like the other small suburbs within Beacon Hills, the Preserve kids attended Beacon Hills' public-school system. At least until the age of 13 when their supernatural status started to manifest. By that age, the families had the choice of either letting their kids continue their education within the public-school system or transfer to the Academy.

Over the years, it became a popular procedure within the Community for kids to be taught control first at the Academy, before transferring back into Beacon Hills's school system. It was also common for a student to decide to stay at the Academy because that meant they didn't have to hold back on their abilities.

Those who did decide to transfer out of the school had to learn the safety procedures, such as the tunnel systems and secret vaults within the public schools, that the Community had put in place. Despite minor supernatural occurrences, the Preserve residents managed to keep up the impression of being normal as their human neighbors.

But after the fire, a shift rippled through the Preserve slowly that no one could explain. Kids who had already learned or were in the process of learning their supernatural abilities lapsed to where they either lacked control, or their abilities went dormant.

This event lasted for almost a year and a half, causing problems not only for the families of the Preserve but also for families moving to Beacon Hills, a result in the awakening of the Nemeton, with kids like Mason and Kira, who had separate supernatural personalities that they had to yet to control.

Unsurprisingly, rumors about the Preserve residents began to surface. It had taken some time for the rumors to die down, but after what happened at the scrimmage and to the Talbot siblings two weeks ago, the rumors started back up.

The plan of showing neighbors that the Preserve residents are just as human as the rest of them seemed to have been working. And while they haven't been openly ostracized yet, but there were times when Stiles and the others would notice a few people paying them too much attention or steer clear from them altogether.

Almost as if, they were anticipating something to happen.

But just like their neighbors, the Preserve residents have been on guard too, just for a different reason. The news about Gerard's return hadn't been taken lightly. Especially, not after it was learned that what happened to Lori and Brett had been planned for some time. The revelation made the opening of Beacon Academy even more important.

The school was due to open in a matter of two weeks, but there is still so much that still needed to be done. Stiles still needs to get records of all the students that will be attending the private school, in the upcoming fall from BHHS, but with everything that has been unfolding in the past couple of months, she just hasn't had the time yet.

Stiles looks over the blueprint of the Academy, making sure it had enough safety features as the other schools. Though she doubts that Gerard would attack the school again, she wasn't going to take a chance of having another tragedy occurring.

Her eyes fall to an unmarked space on the blueprint, that looks to be the size of a garden. At the beginning of the restoration, before Derek's involvement, the contractor asked what it had been used for, Stiles honestly had no idea. When the contractor finally broke down the wall, he discovered that it was empty and the only thing that occupied the space was a 20-foot hole.

At first, Stiles thought that he had been mistaken, but the moment she observed the space herself. She knew what had once been inside.

_Stiles is standing in a white room, wearing a black dress, confused._

_She sees that she is in_ _a large white room with support posts spaced evenly down its length. The only other features were the florescent light fixtures set into the ceiling above and seemingly random areas of grey and white tiling on the floor below. A humming sound coming from behind her catches her attention._

_Her eyes widen when she sees a large tree stump, protruding in the middle of the room. But it's not the presence of the Nemeton that shocks her. It's her mother. Standing on the stump with Nemetonic vines embedded into her skin. Claudia isn't surprised to see Stiles in the room with her. She is seemingly proud of her daughter. Stiles tries to run towards her mother, but the only thing she hears just before her vision goes black is, "I love you, Mischief."_

The sound of a door opening and closing breaks Stiles out of the memory, but she doesn't move to know that Derek is the one entering the Hale House.

After the Talbot sibling's death, Lily had gone back to her pack to grieve, but she had promised she would be back, but Stiles would not blame her if she didn't. But with Lily being Stiles' closest neighbor, Derek used her absence as an excuse to move Stiles in.

This wasn't easy on Derek's part because Stiles felt that it was too far, despite the fact it being one of the closest city residential houses near the Preserve.

Turns out the waiting room that Stiles had been waiting for her a second interview was originally the library. Everything that she had thought about the layout of the Hale House had been remodeled back to its original layout. The only room that seemed to stay the same was the examination room, that had been storage space.

"Any luck?" She questions as Derek comes from around the corner into the living room.

Derek shakes his head, "Just a rejection of wanting to do a peace meeting."

"We both knew how that was going to turn out," Stiles tells him.

Derek notices the blueprints spread out on the coffee table in front of Stiles as she stares at them. He knows that Stiles is stressing out about the opening of Beacon Academy and Gerard's return is not helping. Which is why he has an idea that will help keep her mind off things.

"We should go out," Derek tells her, taking a seat beside her.

"What?" Stiles questions, finally looking from the blueprints to give him a confused expression.

Derek smiles at her reaction, "We should go out."

"You mean like a date?" Stiles questions, expression mixed with confusion.

"I was thinking more of it as two people, who just happen to be living together, hanging out," Derek says casually. "But if you want to call it a date, I have no qualms against it."

Stiles rolls her eyes at him when she sees the teasing smile on his face, "Not to be a wet blanket and coming off as telling you what to do, but considering what you're gone through and what's going on now, the last thing you should be doing is trying to snag a date with someone."

Derek gives her a pleased smile, "You called it a date but it's not just with anyone." Stiles gives him a nonsense expression. "It's with you."

The shocked expression on Stiles's face nearly causes Derek to laugh because there is no way he has been misreading their interactions with each other over the past two weeks. They had all but fall into a routine with each other and Derek swears that Stiles has been looking at him when she thinks he isn't paying attention.

He'd know because he does the same thing.

There's something between them that goes beyond the surrogacy and he couldn't deny it any longer.

"Your last relationship ended barely a month ago and lasting for 10 years," Stiles finally says, scratching her face slightly. "That's a lot of history for you to throw away in a short amount of time without going through the proper motions, don't you think?"

The concern in her surprises Derek, "You're worried about me?"

"Well yeah," She states as if it were the most obvious thing.

"I'm worried about you too," Derek admits, wrapping her unoccupied hand in his. "That's why I think us going on a date will be good for both of us. I think we can use a distraction, what do you say?"

* * *

Erica makes her way through BHHS. While she did have some fond memories of attending her last year and a half at BHHS, it didn't erase the fact that it had also been hell. Partly because she was one of the few students from Beacon Academy to have her abilities go dormant, which left her vulnerable to epilepsy that ran in her family.

She still thinks about the one, of the multiple seizures she had, in particular. She was in class it occurred and but it was so bad she accidentally urinated in her pants. Not surprisingly, the students around her were less than supportive. One was about to put a spoon in her mouth (which, contrary to popular belief, should not be used to prevent a seizing person from swallowing their tongue) until they saw the tag on her key ring that warned not to do this because it could cause her to break her teeth.

Had Derek and Boyd convinced her into opting out of homeschooling, during her overnight hospital stay, she probably never would've returned to the school.

It didn't take her long to discover that Derek and Boyd weren't the ones who had her back.

_The lacrosse team had been on their way to a track meet when they were forced to stop at a gas station due to one of the players vomiting on the bus._

_Erica, Boyd, and Derek were sitting under the shade, trying to get out of the sun when they hear a panicked 15-year old Lydia Martin talking with a 14-year-old Scott McCall, "She went after him," Lydia claims, "She finally tracked down the person who posted the video and just went after him."_

_The duo takes off in a direction that's opposite of the rest stop._

_Erica had known about the video for a while now and has tried hard not to think about who had posted it. Without a word, the trio follows the duo to a small group of students stand by, as a 14-year-old Stiles Stilinski, holds a boy by the collar while she punches him repeatedly. The Coach is seemingly there attempting to break it up, but Stiles doesn't stop until Scott and Lydia working together in pulling her off._

_It seemed that the beat down was effective because the video mysteriously disappeared. Erica tried thanking Stiles that following school day but the girl played dumb as if she had no idea what she was talking. Erica didn't mind it, but as far as she was concerned Stiles was okay in her book._

She arrives at the guidance counselor's door, giving it a quick knock before a voice tells her to come in. She expected to find her old guidance counselor, but is slightly taken back by when she is confronted with someone who wasn't her former counselor, "May I help?"

Erica plasters a friendly smile, "Tamora Monroe?" Erica questions. The woman gives her a nod, "I came to pick up a couple of student files for Ms. Stilinski," Erica says in a business manner. "Something has come up in the last minute and she sent me in her place."

Tamora's eyes light with recognition, "Oh right," The woman says she moves from her desk to her filing cabinet, "She told me that they're finally reopening the private school in the Preserve." She shuffles through a drawer of folders, "Seems we're going to be losing quite a few students, some were even supposed to graduate from here this year."

As Tamora continues pulling out folders, Erica notices a book labeled _The Supernatural Afterlife_ by Brian Felix on a nearby chair. It doesn't strike Erica as odd at first, but when Tamora moves her head in just the right angle she sees that are scratches, resembling close to claw marks on her neck.

She starts to think about the mantra Stiles used a lot in the time that she has known her.

_One's an incident, Two's a Coincidence…_

"Three's a pattern," She whispers to herself, catching Tamora's attention.

"I'm sorry?" Tamora questions her as she hands over a medium-sized pile of files.

"Just thinking out a loud," Erica replies, trying to keep her cool. "I couldn't help but notice the scratches."

"These?" Tamora gestures with a feigned chuckle. "When I first got them, I couldn't laugh about it, but now I can."

"May I ask what happened?"

"Oh, um, from a branch in the woods. Scratched me deeper than I thought it would." Tamora tells her. "I have to admit I'm a bit of thrill-seeker when I first moved here and wanted to see what was up with people not wanting to go into the woods around here."

"I've been hearing that warning ever since I was a kid," Erica comments in an agreeing manner. "Mountain lions, coyotes, you know wildlife."

"Yes," Tamora says in a rather intense tone. "Well, it seems that the wildlife back then wasn't a joke."

"I'm glad it didn't get more serious than that," Erica tells her honestly. "Thank you so much for your help."

"Happy to help."

However, when both women are no longer facing each other, Erica's face turns into complete confliction while Tamora's expression turns into something close to disdain.

Erica is already out the school, her phone in hand as she dials a number, "Tamora Monroe... is the new hunter."

* * *

Not even an hour later, Tamora has another visitor in her office, "Lydia Martin," Tamora says with feigned fascination, "One of BHHS's legendary student, what are you here to talk to about?"

Sitting in a chair, across her desk, Lydia sits wearing a blank expression. She is honestly happy that Tamora isn't trying to play games with her, "Coexistence."

Tamora gives her a doubtful expression, "Coexistence?"

"For people like you." Lydia declares without blanking, "And people like me."

Tamora has crosses her fingers together as she places her hands on her desk, "That's a bit of a challenge." She drops her voice low, "Especially, considering people like you aren't quite the same as people like me."

Lydia gives a slight chuckle, "That's usually where coexistence breaks down." She drops her voice as well, "When we highlight our differences."

Tamora's expression turns serious, "What is it you want, Lydia?"

"We want a peace summit." This seems to catch the woman's attention, "We asked Gerard and he refused."

Tamora gives her an unsympathetic expression, "Then you got your answer." She then indicates to the door that leads outside her office.

But Lydia doesn't remove herself from the chair. Instead, she leans closer to the desk, "What if you're the only one that can stop this?"

"What if I don't want to?"

Lydia gives her a calculated face, "You didn't become a guidance counselor to hunt people. You're supposed to help them."

Tamora isn't moved by Lydia's pitch, "I can't help with this." Without even thinking, Lydia reaches across the desk, taking a hold of Tamora, but just as quickly as she reached out for her, she lets her go, "Is that how you do your predictions?" She questions the banshee with some fascination, "You have to touch someone?"

"No."

"Then how do you do it?" Tamora questions with some genuine curiosity, "How do you know who's gonna die next?"

Lydia hears the underlying threat in her questions, "There doesn't have to be a next." She stands from her chair, "On either side."

* * *

"It's a trap," Derek says in a low tone as he waits in the living room.

For some reason, it would seem that his and Stiles' Inner Circle decided to share the information that they learned earlier in the day, almost an hour before the meeting with the hunter that had been behind the deaths of the Talbot siblings, on a conference call no less.

"She said that she would meet to talk," Scott reminds him.

"Meeting alone in the middle of the tunnels with a werewolf hunter?" Boyd questions with some sarcasm of his own, "It's a trap."

"Then what do you suggest that we do?" Lydia questions in a strained tone.

"Not go," Erica answers as if that is the obvious answer.

"Gerard is recruiting new hunters, and he's murdering our friends," Scott argues. "He's not gonna stop unless I convince him that we're not his enemy."

"You don't know him like I do." Derek reminds him harshly, "What happens if you can't?" He keeps his eyes on the staircase for Stiles, "You're gonna get yourself killed." Derek's hearing picks up shuffling coming from upstairs, "And I'm sure Stiles would kick your ass for going on a suicide mission."

"I have to try this," Scott argues at them, "All I want to do is to get Monroe to trust us and I'm going alone."

Before anyone else can argue with him, Scott disconnects the call and with him being the one to initiate the conference call, everyone gets disconnected at the same time.

Derek rubs a hand down his face in frustration, wondering why every member of the Preserve so stubborn and is close to redialing Scott's number when he hears Stiles coming down the stairs.

A part of him wants to tell her about Scott's stupid plan in meeting Monroe in the tunnels alone, but another part of him knows that Stiles would drop everything to go help him. And that wasn't something he is willing to let happen if he could help it.

She didn't have to know yet, but he just prayed that nothing will happen to Scott.

"Everything okay?" She questions him as Derek meets her at the stairs.

Thanks to the pregnancy, Stiles opted in wearing the oversized clothing that her wardrobe offered. But Stiles seemingly had some more hidden clothes that weren't her usual attire.

The dress she wears has a blue background with a navy and pink floral pattern with a waist tie that fits on top of her baby comfortable fashion. Over of the course the months, Derek began to realize that he would find Stiles looking beautiful no matter what she wore.

Derek doesn't realize he hasn't even answer Stiles' question until she gets a look of embarrassment on her face, "I look terrible, don't I?" She questions, gesturing at her body.

"No," Derek answers quickly. "Um, sorry I'm a little–thrown. I wasn't expecting you to look so…" Derek trails.

Stiles gives him a raising eyebrow, "Like an oversized bowling ball?"

"I was gonna say "so incredibly beautiful" Derek laughs a bit fluttered himself, "But, yeah, I guess that'd be the same thing."

Stiles gives him an embarrassed smile, "You don't look so bad yourself."

"Thank you very much." He offers her his arm, tilting his head towards the door, "Shall we?"

* * *

In the tunnel, Scott arrives to find Monroe flanked by two armed hunters and with a third hunter with a shock stick taser in the tunnel behind him, "I thought we were here to talk peace."

"I agreed to come," Tamora corrects him. "I never agreed on peace."

Scott examines his surrounding once more, "If you brought them, I guess Gerard is here too, isn't he?"

"Right here, Scott," Gerard says, announcing his presence as he comes from around a corner.

"Whatever he's told you," Scott says, keeping his focus on Tamora, "There's another side of the story."

"Isn't there always?" She questions, her voice cold. "What were you hoping for here, Scott?"

"I was hoping to talk to someone reasonable." He sighs slightly, "Trust me, he's not the kind of person that you want to follow. He's gonna lead you off a cliff."

"Following me?" Gerard questions with some amusement, "No one here is following me, Scott. I'm merely an adviser."

Scott realizes then that they have been reaching out to the wrong person, "This is because of you?" He questions to Tamora.

Tamora takes a step to him, "That's right." She gives him a serious expression, "You're negotiating with me, Scott."

"Tell me how to settle this," He stays focused on her. "What do you want?"

"I want to see a werewolf beg for peace."

"Fine." Scott then gets on his knees in the tunnels, "I'll beg. I'll, I'll do whatever you want." He tells her with a strong tone, "Just tell me that we don't have to kill each other." He bows his head down, "That we can find a way to make peace."

"That wasn't quite what I was hoping for." Scott lifts his head to witness her staring down at him, "People are dying." She clears her throat, "They've been dying. You only care now because it's your people."

"You have to want something other than seeing us all dead." Scott tries, "What if we leave Beacon Hills? All of us."

"If you leave, we'll follow you," Tamora says, plainly. "We'll hunt you down until every single one of you is gone."

"Some of us have been protecting you."

"Don't listen to him," Gerard speaks, horning in on their conversation, "He wants you to be afraid."

"But you shouldn't be afraid of us," Scott counters with urgency. "We protect people. People like you."

This finally results in a crooked smile from Monroe, "People like me?" She looks rather amused at the statement, "You don't know anything about people like me."

"So, help me understand." Scott tells her, getting up from the ground, "Tell me what made you hate us so much."

The smile falls instantly, "I don't think you want to press that button, Scott."

It's her reaction that causes Scott to remember what Erica had shared with him, "Something happened to you, didn't it?" He questions, "Something bad."

"Bad doesn't even come close."

_Five years ago_

_Tamora and several of her coworkers are exiting the high school after a faculty meeting about the new course rubric runs late._

" _I didn't think that was ever going to end," Tamora laughs with a coworker. "Seriously, we deserved a medal or something."_

_Her coworker laughs in agreement, "Almost makes having the summer off worth it, right?"_

_Tamora is about to laugh herself when a beastly roar fills the air._

_While her coworkers don't seem to be completely alarmed by the sounds coming from the shadows, Tamora is, "More than likely, it's just an animal." Her coworker assures her, "It's why we tell the students to go out into the woods by themselves."_

_Even with the assurance, Tamora isn't at ease, "What kind of-"_

_Her question gets cut off when something big and fast starts attacking the group and everyone runs for a school bus, but even then the creature is faster than them and Tamora witness a shadow having claw and teeth attack her and colleges._

"To this day, I'm surprised that I'm still alive."

"If one of us had been there..."

"You were there, Scott." Monroe interrupts him, "You and Stiles." She gives him a hard expression, "Don't you remember?" She questions, "Did you even think to check if anyone was still alive?"

"We didn't know."

"You didn't care," She snaps at him. "How many people have to die so you could keep your secret?" Her voice is filled with emotional anger, "So you and your friends could carry on as if nothing ever happened." She points to herself, "I was there. Lying under those bodies." She thinks about her deceased colleges, "Hiding and waiting for someone to finally find me." Her eyes shine with unshed tears as her face now turns to complete hate, "You shouldn't have come alone, Scott."

She reaches for her gun.

"He didn't," Erica announces, just as the hunter with the taser stick is thrown between them. Erica, Boyd, Lydia, and a werecoyote Malia, are with her and they stand a few feet behind Scott.

* * *

It takes Stiles a second to realize that Derek is giving her a strange expression, once their waiter has taken their orders, "What?" Stiles questions, feeling rather self-conscious. "I know my pronunciation sucked, okay?" She gives him a pointed finger, "Had it been Polish, I would've wiped the floor with you."

Derek laughs at Stiles' retaliation, "Actually, you pronounced it fine. I was more concerned about what you ordered, rather than how you ordered it."

"I thought I was ordering a salad?"

"You did," Derek assures her. "But I've known you for a while now, meaning I know that you can eat everything off the menu in one sitting and still have room for dessert. But you ordered just a salad. Are you not feeling well?"

"I'm fine," Stiles replies. She makes a sniffing sound, "It's just that now and then certain things I eat make me feel nauseous. And the last thing I want to do is ruin this evening by throwing up everywhere."

"We can leave," Derek offers with no hesitation.

"I'm fine honestly," Stiles counters, giving him an assuring smile. "You don't have to worry." She takes a sip of her water before setting it back down, "Though I'm surprised that you drove us to Hill Valley just because you wanted me to have authentic Mexican food at…" She looks around for the name of the restaurant, "El Huerto Secreto."

"The Secret Garden," Derek translates. "My family and I would come here after our free runs," Derek shares with her. "Just like how you and the others do at your place." He looks around the restaurant with a reminiscent expression on his face, "We even came here for birthdays and special events. It was like a tradition for us. There were a lot of them."

Stiles notices how Derek speaks in the past tense, almost as if he didn't get to enjoy the traditions that he once shared with his family with Kate.

A silence falls on the table as their waiter arrives with their appetizers. For a moment, neither of them had to anything to say, but Stiles can't handle the silence and breaks it, "Maybe when she's older you can bring her here." Derek raises his eyebrow in question. "The baby," Stiles clarifies. "Honestly, I can see Erica and Boyd liking this place too so bring them along. Make it a tradition with your new family."

Derek is briefly stunned by Stiles' suggestion as she casually starts picking at the food between them. just A swelling sensation fills his chest and touches his heart. Something that he hasn't felt in a long time, "Would you care to dance?"

Stiles stops picking at the food when she hears his question, "Dance? Here?"

"Yeah, they have a dance floor over there." With his head, he motions over a separate room where a few couples are slow dancing. "My parents did it all the time."

"No." Stiles shakes her head rather adamantly, "I hate dancing."

"No, you don't," He says, calling her out on the lie. He stands up, holding out his hand to her, "I've seen you dancing in the kitchen when you think that you're alone."

Stiles snorts a laugh, "That's called spying." But that doesn't deter Stiles from taking his hand, "I apologize for stepping for your toes in advance."

Derek gives a warm smile as he leads them to the room with the dance floor, "Don't worry, I'm a fast healer."

* * *

Back in the tunnels, a bloody lump appears to have joined the meeting in the shadows.

All hunters except for Gerard have their guns trained on the shapeshifters and Lydia now, "Hey hey," Scott says, trying to keep the tensions from raising. "We did not come here to fight."

"Well, then you came here to die," Gerard declares. At the threat, Malia growl that seems to shake Tamora and her hunters slightly, but not Gerard. "You might wanna control your Beta, Scott." Gerard warns, "She could get you all killed."

Monroe goes through all the supernatural chaos that Scott, Lydia, and Stiles had taken care of after the fires of Beacon Academy. Her claims ranged from Wendigos, Kitsunes, and Werecoyotes. But during her speech about Scott and his friends with their lack of trying to save people, Lydia feels a change in the air, "Something's here."

As she speaks her sentence, she sees the faceless corpse in the tunnel with them and looks back to hunters, who are seeming to shake their weapons slightly, "It's here right now and it's amplifying their fear."

It seems her statement triggers the hunters armed with guns, who spin around seeing the corpse and start firing wildly.

"Get down!" Scott shouts.

Scott covers Lydia while Boyd covers as gunfire fills the air.

Monroe tries to gain control, "Stop shooting!" But the hunters seem to ignore her.

While everyone has ducked for cover a werecoyote Malia senses something behind her and sees the bloody lump behind them. She runs at on all fours before jumping at, teeth and claws already out, only for her to seemingly jump at something that isn't there.

Scott and the others manage to hide behind a secure wall as the hunters continue their rapid firing, "What do we do now?" Boyd questions the Preserve members.

A creak comes from above them and they look up to see grate opening with a flare being dropped to the tunnel floor, "What is that?" Erica questions.

"Hellhound," Lydia answers in a tone of pride as a man jumps down after the flare, his eyes glow orange and he growls.

One of the hunters opens fire but the man tosses him into the tunnel wall. He makes a beeline for the lump and shoves the still-lit flare into it. Both forms are consumed in flames.

The fireball passes and the tunnel darkens and Scott rushes to help the man to his feet. The hunters are gone, and the lump lies on the tunnel floor severely scorched.

"They didn't come here to negotiate," Erica tells Scott. "You did everything you could."

"No," Scott replies, thinking the one thing he has been dreading throughout the entire crisis. "Not everything."

* * *

Stiles and Derek embrace each other as they slow dance on the dance floor. The music gives off a romantic atmosphere with soft melodies filling the room as they move in perfect harmony on the dance floor in comfortable silence, "What are you thinking about?" Derek questions her, a curious look on his face.

"I feel like you've asked me that question already," Stiles chuckles lightly. "Why don't you think of a topic to discuss?"

"Because I want to talk about what you want to talk about," Derek answers easily. Which is the truth because he had grown fond of Stiles' rambling. Especially when she is passionate about a topic. Whether it be about Beacon Academy or after their prenatal appointments with Melissa.

"Well, I can't help, but notice that we're the only two people on the dance floor," She answers honestly. "Kind of makes me feel like people are watching us."

"I wouldn't be surprised," Derek comments as he glances around the room with Stiles. "We're the youngest people in here and give off the illusion of being young, in love, and starting a family."

"But we're not in love," Stiles whispers to him. She feels a twitch come from Derek's arm that is placed around her waist, "I mean, I think you're reading too much into it, Derek."

"Maybe, maybe not," Derek answers with a gentle tone. "Either way, I think we're convincing enough. Don't you?"

Stiles examines the room and sees that people are sneaking glances at them as she and Derek continue to move along in rhythm. Her mind goes back to the conversation she had with Scott about her feelings for the Alpha, "I guess," She finally answers, looking to him.

She hadn't expected Derek to be staring at her as she thought about her answer. But he is with an unreadable expression on his face and it felt like time was starting to stand still for them.

For once in her life, Stiles is speechless. She opens her mouth to make words come out. She didn't care what words; any words will do because the intimacy of the dance and her beating heart is driving Stiles mad.

However, no words can come out when Derek presses his lips against hers and for a moment Stiles is shocked. Because it feels so natural, just as natural that the vibration of a hum flows through her when she returns the kiss.

To Stiles, it feels like the two of them are supposed to be one. Not just Stiles. Not just Derek. But Stiles and Derek. Together. She wants to ask Derek if he felt the same way, but honestly she's too scared to.

* * *

Back at Gerard's HQ, Monroe is shaken and angry about the turnout of the meeting, "What the hell was that thing?"

Gerard has an idea of what creature was in the tunnels, but he isn't going, to be honest with his protégé, "That was what happens when a town is overrun with supernaturals."

Monroe seems to take his answer to heart, "I don't know why you chose me." She tells him, "I failed. Scott got away."

"He's just one more wolf to hunt." Gerard tells her, "You didn't fail. You gave the people of Beacon Hills what they've always needed." She looks at him with some slight admiration, "A voice. And as a victim yourself, you make the perfect messenger."

"And what exactly is our message?"

"That this world belongs to us."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello people, sorry for the long wait for an update; my head space hasn't been exactly right. Honestly it still isn't but I've managed to start working on the next two chapters so hopefully, I'll be cranking them out soon.


	7. Reminiscence

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I needed to get this chapter out because I kept rewriting this one scene and it was driving me nuts.

The following afternoon, Stiles watches Derek as he makes their lunch for the day. She had insisted on making it in return for him taking her out last night, but he didn't even hear it. He just told her to sit at the table, gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before making his way to the kitchen. The simple, sweet gesture had caused Stiles to remember their kiss on the dance floor.

At the time, it felt nice to Stiles because Derek's plan for the night out as a distraction had worked. They talked about each other's families and childhood. She could almost see herself having a relationship with Derek.

Now after a good night's sleep, Stiles managed to talk herself into thinking that what happened on the dance floor was purely circumstantial.

The problem is her head is telling her one thing while her heart tells her another. She's practically deciding to ignore the conflict within her mind when she hears, "Your mind is wondering," Derek's voice calls out from the kitchen, "What are you thinking about?"

Dammit. Why is he always asking that question?

Stiles isn't ready to have a "defining the relationship" conversation but there is no way, she can deflect his question as easily as she can with Scott or Lydia. Mainly, because while she does love her two best friends to death, she knows they let her get away with it.

She can't lie to him. He has had enough lies already, "What's the deal here?"

He comes out of the kitchen with two plates, consisting of a sandwich and pieces of fruit. He places a plate setting it down in front of her, "Deal?"

"With us," She clarifies, looking him in the eye.

Derek's face shows confusion, "I thought I made my feelings about us rather obvious last night."

"But how do you know you're ready?" She questions so hastily, that she nearly surprises herself. She wants to run from this conversation, but she can't get herself to high tail it out there.

So, she does the one thing, she can do. Ramble her way through it, "The kiss only happened because you were feeling nostalgic about the thought of family."

Stiles' rapid heartbeat fills Derek's ears. He smells the anxiety and doubts coming off her. He isn't surprised by Stiles' question to say the least.

Derek had to have a long conversation with himself multiple times before mustering up the courage to even ask Stiles out.

He gives her a soft appearance, "Is that truly how you feel?"

"It's what I know," She answers. "You've known me for what? Six months going on seven months."

"You didn't answer my question."

Stiles turns away from him almost as if she needs a moment to think, "I feel that you can't possibly be mentally ready to be in a relationship after being in one or ten years considering the circumstances."

She turns back to him giving him a serious expression, "I feel that you are probably just projecting these feelings because this whole situation is extremely intimate considering I'm pregnant with your child." She sighs, "Like I said yesterday, you have a lot of things to deal with that you haven't gone through the proper motions for."

Derek stares at her as a sense of warmth overcomes him as he reaches over and cups her cheek in his hand, looking her over.

He can't deny that some of the things that Stiles said aren't true. The anger in finding out about Kate's involvement in the fires, still resounded within him every time he tried to find traces of her. The fact that he didn't see what the Community saw years ago, still eats at him from time to time and sometimes it felt like he would just go mad with rage and grief. Give into the animal side him, but at the same time, he felt almost at peace too.

He thought he had lost his chance at having a family after finding out that Kate couldn't have kids. But then Stiles came along with her friends and Derek started to feel whole again. Sure, things had been rocky in the beginning, but over the months Derek felt more at home with people he had just met than he had with Kate in years.

"Stiles," He says after a moment. "You and our daughter are the ones that have kept me grounded through this whole ordeal. I know it's not exactly ideal, but it is the only thing that is keeping me from losing my mind over this past month." He rubs a thumb on her cheek looking her over with affection written on his face, "I promise I will talk to someone as soon as this is all over, okay?"

"And I believe that until you do," Stiles replies softly, taking the caressing hand into her own. "We should keep this as a professional relationship."

"You care about me, don't you?"

"Probably more than I should," Stiles confesses softly just as they hear the door open and close.

Before Derek or Stiles can move, Boyd and Erica enter the dining room wearing grim-expressions, "We need to talk."

* * *

Within thirty minutes, the Preserve pack, along with Derek, Erica, and Boyd, meet at the animal clinic.

In front of them, is a slab of stone that has another face that is seemingly more human and less distraught.

"What are we looking at?" Stiles questions.

Jordan, a Hellhound that apparently saved everyone last night, answers in the form of taking Lydia's drawing and placing it next to the slab. The opening that has been left in her drawing fits perfectly with the empty space that is left on the slab.

"Is that what I think it is?" She questions.

"The Anuk-Ite, an ancient shapeshifter. A creature of disharmony. It can turn neighbor against neighbor, sowing the seeds of discord and hate." He explains, "It doesn't need fangs, it doesn't need claws. It uses something far more sinister."

Lydia thinks about the hunters' reaction to the bloody lump in the tunnels with them last night, "Fear."

Jordan nods, "When paranoia turns to anger, anger turns to violence, entire communities tear themselves apart," He shares. "The creature feeds off the fear and grows more powerful."

"It would explain what triggered Mason and Kira," Stiles relates. "Remember Scott, said that when he fought the Beast it was terrified."

"Then things are about to go from dangerous to more dangerous," Boyd predicts. "We've already warned the Community about Gerard being back after what happened with Brett and Lori, that alone has already put the Community on high alert."

"Adding that to what people witnessed on the road that night and the rumors," Erica comments. "Beacon Hills is slowly being turned into a freaking minefield."

"So if we know what this thing is," Scott inputs. "That means that we can stop it, right?"

Jordan gives him an unsure look, "I don't know." He looks to Stiles, "What do you know about it?"

Stiles blinks a bit off guard, "I don't remember much honestly, but I do remember that sometimes it's called Double Face or Two-Faces." She uses Lydia's picture as a resource for her explanation, moving her finger from side to side, "One's beautiful and the other is hideous. Which is why it represents disharmony and discord."

Derek directs his attention to Jordan. "How long have you been doing?"

"Not long," He replies. "I only started because the Hellhound that has been hunting this creature is dead," He looks to Lydia curiously. "Hence why you drew the picture."

"I drew this picture weeks ago," Lydia reminds him. "Are you telling me that there's a dead Hellhound lying around somewhere?"

"It's possible," He says plainly. "We're not exactly easy to kill."

"Is this creature easy to kill?" Scott questions.

"As long it stays separated from its other half it shouldn't be a problem," Jordan theorizes.

"Which begs the question, are we searching for something that has two faces?" Scott questions him, "Or two people?"

Lydia realizes that Scott has a point, "Two faces may mean two creatures."

"And when they come together," Stiles pieces together. "They'll be unstoppable."

* * *

"I think we should cancel the opening," Derek tells Stiles as he drives them back to the Hale House.

"What?" Stiles questions with bewilderment in her voice, "No. we can't just cancel the opening of the Academy." She shakes her head with certainty. "We've been looking forward to this for ages."

Derek gazes at her as if she has lost her mind, "Have you been listening to anything that we learned today?" He focuses back on the road, "That place will be a ticking time for both Gerard and the Anuk-Ite."

"Gerard wants us to be scared just like he wants Monroe and the others to be scared," Stiles argues. "Us being scared with the Anuk-Ite lurking around will play right into his hand and it's favor. We can't let that happen."

"I agree," Derek confesses. "But there are too many uncertainties. We need more preparation, more information, so we can figure this out without endangering lives." He takes a breath, realizing his knuckles are turning white from him gripping onto the wheel too hard. "You're supposed to be staying out of this," Derek reminds her calmly.

"I have been staying out of this," Stiles replies, crossing her arms. "I've been so out of this I didn't even know that my best friend agreed to go on a suicide mission to meet with a hunter in the tunnels alone."

"I just don't want us to fight about this. Alright?" He informs her, "When it comes to keeping you and our daughter safe, I will do whatever it takes." He sighs, but not before casually dropping, "Even if I have to bring the law down on you."

Stiles rolls her eyes, "Don't be so dramatic." She expects Derek to make a rebuttal at her comment, but when she steals a glance at him, she sees that he's wearing a stern expression, "Oh my God, you're serious."

Derek moves his head firmly. "Just think about what I said. I would love nothing more for the Academy to be reopened, but not at the expense of you and our baby's security."

Stiles does her best to keep the anger bubbling in her chest down.

She takes a deep breath, "Look, I understand this is new to you, but protecting Beacon Hills is my responsibility," She reminds him. "Not yours," Her phone starts ringing, but Stiles ignores the call as she continues talking. "I've been doing this for ten years without your intrusion, but I'll be damned if-"

A muscle ticks near Derek's tight jaw as he interrupts her with, "You're just not thinking clearly, perhaps your hormones have-"

A hum buzzed around them and Derek knows that he has made a mistake, "My hormones have nothing to do with this." Stiles tells him sharply, "I endured ten years of this, raging hormones included." She glares at him, "I didn't need an Alpha then and I sure as hell-"

Stiles' phone rings again, this time hearing it Stiles takes the chance to break away from the conversation, "Lydia?"

"If you wanna be with him," Lydia's monotone voice says on the other end. "Go, now."

* * *

"Dad," Stiles says as soon as she walks into her father's hospital room.

Upon their arrival, the attending doctor informed them, that Noah had been given a mild sedative. "Are you comfortable?" She questions fussing with his sheets and pillows. A slight catch in her voice reveals her sadness. "They said they gave you medication for the pain."

"I'm fine." He assures her, "As well as can be anticipated."

"Good." Stiles sniffles. "Then maybe there's a chance that you can bounce back."

"No, Stiles." He tells her gently, "You and I know that's not going to happen." He pats her hand and Stiles lets a tear fall onto her cheek, "It's okay. It's going to be all right. I had a vision, you see."

"I thought Lydia was the psychic one," Stiles comments in a joking manner. She goes so far as to make a laugh, but just like her attempted joke, it falls flat.

"I saw you, Stiles. I saw you and Derek, and you were so incredibly happy together," Noah tells her. "It made me feel content knowing you'll be taken care of once I'm gone."

"At least it wasn't of a sacrificial tree," Stiles says, earning herself a no-nonsense scowl from her father. Even with him being sick and on his deathbed, he still didn't crack a smile at Stiles' attempt to lighten up the mood.

She sighs in defeat, taking a seat next to his bed, "You must've seen a very faraway future," Stiles comments as she flashes to the fight, "And there's no need to rush it. You need to focus on getting better."

"Stiles, I'm not going to be getting any better." Noah tells her, giving her a gentle smile, "We both know that and it's time you start admitting that."

* * *

Derek can't focus. There are too many emotions that he is feeling right now.

Stiles had been telling the truth that she had been staying out of the Gerard and Kate situation, he knows because he couldn't help but listen to see if she was lying. But now he's worried not just because of the argument they had, but because now she is going to have come to terms with the fact that her father doesn't have much time left.

Which is why he choose to sit in the waiting area to give them privacy.

To his surprise, Lydia joins him and the two of them have been in a mutual silence with each other. Derek being stuck on what the next move will be and Lydia, well he's not sure what exactly the Banshee has been thinking.

She makes a tired sigh as she shifts in her chair, "He doesn't have much longer," Lydia says softly. This gets his attention, but he sees that Lydia isn't looking at him. She has her face in her hands, "Probably won't make it through the night."

"Are the voices telling you that?"

Lydia removes her hands from her face, sitting up in her chair. Her face slightly clenched, "When you've been a harbinger of death for as long as I have, sometimes you can just know death is going to happen without the assistance of voices."

"What about other times?"

Lydia stares at him, "What do you mean?"

"You're a powerful banshee Lydia," Derek tells her. "You have proven that there's more to your power than foretelling death." He gives a thoughtful expression, "Surely there was a time when your power has saved a life."

Lydia gives a weak smile, "There was a time after the fire," Lydia tells him. "Happened on probably one of the coldest nights of the year…"

_15-year-old Scott McCall is adjusting the mirrors to Lydia's car with 16-year-old Lydia Marin sitting in the passenger seat. She adjusts the music that has been playing to a lower sound for Scott to concentrate._

" _Thanks for helping me out," Scott tells her as he finishes moving the last mirror. "Mom's been working extra shifts at the hospital since that horrible storm came through."_

" _Happy to help," Lydia says. She notices that Scott placing his hands on the wheel, "Actually, the approved position is now 9:00 and 3:00." She informs him, "At 10:00 and 2:00, a deployed airbag could break your thumbs."_

_Scott gives her a cocky smile, "Mine would heal."_

_Lydia gives him an unimpressed stare, "Your healing speed is still too slow so how about you preserve your strength." She points to the wheel, "Now 9:00 and 3:00."_

_Scott nods with some eagerness and begins to drive. At a speed of a turtle.  
_

_Lydia surveys the area around them, trying her best to keep a plain expression, "Maybe you should press a little harder on the gas..."_

_Scott takes the suggestion, pressing down on the gas hard._

_The tires squeal instantly as the car moves quickly down the street, "Whoa!" Lydia claims at the sudden change in speed, while Scott stops the car at her outburst._

_He has freaked out the expression on his face as well, "Take a minute and loosen up, you're too nervous which is making me nervous..." Lydia instructs him in a hoarse pitch.  
_

_Scott nods his head in agreement as a brief silence falls between them, "Do you think she'll be okay?"_

_"She'll-" Lydia begins to say, but is interrupted when the sound of music is substituted with multiple voices filling her ears. She freaks out grabbing Scott by his arm as she stares at the radio._

" _Lydia?" Scott questions, noticing the alarming behavior, "What is it?"_

_She doesn't tear her eyes away from the radio, "You hear that?"_

_Scott survives the area, but doesn't pick up on anything or anyone out on the road with them, "Hear what?"_

_She looks at Scott with a mix of fear and surprise, "You don't hear that?"_

_"I hear music," Scott tells her plainly. He points at the radio, "What do you hear?"_

_"Voices," She says plainly as the voices seemingly get louder and louder before in another instant the voices are replaced with music, "They're gone."_

" _Are you-"_

_Scott starts to ask when they hear a piercing scream coming from outside. They quickly exit the vehicle, both looking in all directions of the road, but see nothing on the road with them, "Smell anything?" Lydia questions him as they stood side by side._

_Scott shakes his head, "No."_

" _We should probably go," She whispers. They move in opposite directions this time with Lydia in the driver's seat while Scott takes the passengers. The music is playing, but the moment Lydia puts the car in drive, she hears a familiar voice screeches through the speakers clear as day, "Somebody help me!"_

"Of course, we went to the Sheriff immediately," Lydia shares with him. "But it appeared he was already aware of the situation…"

" _Cordova, I want a list of any kind of industrial basement or sub-level of any building that she could've gotten into while sleepwalking." The Sheriff instructs his team of deputies in the lobby of the station, he nearly stops speaking when he sees Scott and Lydia. "It's the coldest night of the year so far and she's out there barefoot in just a T-shirt, she could already be hypothermic. Let's move fast. Let's think fast." He speaks his last sentence as a dismissal._

_The urgency that has been on his face moments before is now gone when his eyes land on Lydia, "You knew." While the sentence comes out as a statement rather than a question,_ _Lydia nods her head silently, but she doesn't miss how the Sheriff loses his composure for a second, "Okay," He says more to himself as he takes a deep breath. "Come with me."_

" _What happened?" Scott questions after the Sheriff closes the door._

" _After Stiles started sleepwalking_ _," He explains to them. "_ _I had some security precautions put in. Motion sensors. Cameras." He scrabbles through his phone before he handing it to Scott and Lydia, "This is what the system picked up."_

_Scott and Lydia watch as Stiles suddenly sitting straight up from her bed. Then after a beat, she slowly turns her head, almost puppet-like, towards the camera. After first it appears that she is still sleeping, but when she opens her eyes, Scott and Lydia see that they are both glowing just before the feed is cut._

" _Nemeton," Scott realizes._

" _That's what I thought at first," The Sheriff tells them. "But almost as soon as it goes out, I get a frantic call from her saying that something terrible has gotten out, but she had no idea where she was and her leg was bleeding."_

" _There's something that we can try," Lydia offers._

"Unfortunately, this was when we had that strange occurrence happening through the Preserve and my abilities had gone dormant," Lydia shares with him. "But when I heard her voice and Scott didn't, I took it as a hint that they were coming back. So..."

_Lydia sits in front of an unlit candle with a piece of blank paper in front of her while she holds onto a pencil in her hand. While Scott stands beside her holding a lighter._

_"Now you'll just magically write down where Stiles is?" The Sheriff questions._

_"It's not quite," Lydia tells him. "In automatic writing, the hand moves outside of any conscious awareness." Lydia has a perplexed expression, "Hopefully the silence, the darkness, and the light will allow me to find a more comfortable, relaxed, trance-like state." She nods her head in signal to Scott in lighting the candle. "I have to stare into the light and let go of all thought, except Stiles."_

_It appears to take a few minutes, but Lydia suddenly starts sketching on the paper without looking away from the candle._

_While Lydia is doing this, Scott and the Sheriff talked in hushed whispers, "You remember how Lydia's predictions work, don't you?"_

_The Sheriff nods his head giving a waned face, "What are the chances that we'll get a straight answer and not something completely unrelated."_

" _I don't know," Scott answers honestly. "But if anyone can find her, it'd be Lydia."_

_It is at the statement something triggers Lydia as she starts sketching on the page faster and harder, "Oh, is she..." The Sheriff questions, noticing Lydia's behavior, "Should we stop her?"_

_Scott makes his way to the Banshee, "Lydia?" He calls out to her, but Lydia continues sketching faster and harder, "Lydia, slow down." But Lydia doesn't seem to hear him, and Scott blows out the candle that results in the Banshee to still completely._

_"Is she okay?" The Sheriff questions as he moves to check on the teen, "Lydia?" He tries, only Lydia doesn't give him an answer._

" _It'll take her a second before she snaps out of it," Scott shares with as he takes the paper and sees that Lydia has made a drawing._

_Lydia's drawing is of an abandoned multistory building that is seemingly surrounded by a gate. It has multiple windows and seems to have a historical touch, rather than modern, build to it. But luckily for them, there is a nameplate that slightly legible and visible in her drawing._

"It took some time but we found her in the basement of the old Eichen House Clinic," Lydia finishes. "She was hypothermic but uninjured. Nothing even suggesting that something had been there." She wrinkles her nose, "We even check with Eichen, but according to them all the patients had been accounted for."

A contemplative silence falls between the Banshee and Alpha just as Stiles enters the waiting room. Her expression remains blank, but Derek can see the sadness in them as their eyes connect.

He wants nothing more than to wrap her in his arms and tell her that everything is going to be okay. But he doesn't move, not until Stiles speaks to him for the first time since their fight two hours ago.

"He wants to see you," She says in a strained voice.

* * *

Derek sits next to Noah in his hospital bed and unlike the times he had spent with Noah while he and Stiles had visited, this one feels different than the others. The smell had gotten stronger through his visit, but for the most part, Derek was able to ignore them.

The smell he's getting right now…

"Stiles told me about what happened," Noah tells him in a tired tone. "You've been put in an awkward position here and I can't say I'm surprised."

Derek makes a grunt, "A blessing and a curse." He hears Noah make a snorting sound, which he is sure was laughter. He looks to Noah for guidance, "How do you handle the things Stiles has to do?"

"The best I could," Noah answers honestly. "Before the fires, things were peaceful and Claudia didn't have to be as active as Stiles did." Derek sees a flash of grief and guilt in his eyes, "But on the night of the fires, I begged Claudia not to seek out the Nemeton. I told her I couldn't lose her just after we had lost our daughter. I knew I was being selfish, but I wasn't ready to lose my family in one night," He looks ashamed speaking that sentence.

A silence falls over them for a moment, before Derek speaks again, "I feel like I'm going to lose my family all over again." He shakes his slightly making a rueful laugh, "It's funny how Kate has been the only family I've known after all these years, and I haven't even mourned the loss of her." He sighs, "But Stiles and our baby…God the thought makes me feel like I did ten years ago." He rubs his hand down his face, "I feel like I'm failing them."

"You're not," Noah says with some endearment. "All she talks about is you and how you've managed to take control of the situation and it makes her feel a little less anxious. But Stiles is always going to worry, that's just how she is." He gives Derek an encouraging glance, "I know that perhaps things haven't exactly followed a traditional path and with this being Beacon Hills, I'm not surprised, but the two of you have a special bond."

"How do you know?"

"I've witnessed it from looking at you, I know from watching you, Derek Hale. You have an excellent heart. Strong and brave and true. You are exactly what Stiles will need to support her through the tough times ahead. Whether you know it or not and for that, I'll always be grateful."

* * *

_It's the morning of Stiles' 16_ _th_ _birthday and Noah Stilinski is leading a blind-folded Stiles outside of their home._

" _Dad, you didn't have to get me anything," Stiles claims, laughing as she walks with her hands stretched out in front of her._

" _I know, but I figure it was time for you to have this," Noah tells her._

" _Have what?"_

_He unties the blindfold from her eyes and Stiles gasps at the sight before her, "Is this what I think it is?"_

" _It was your mother's back when we first met in college." He tells Stiles as he watches her walking around a blue jeep. The look of awe and amazement on her face reminds him so much of Claudia._

" _You guys used to call it a screaming metal death trap," Stiles muses. "I can't believe you kept it after all these years."_

" _She wanted you to have something when you got your license," He explains. "I know it's not much…"_

_Stiles shakes her head, "Dad this is perfect." She beams happily, "In a way, it's like she is still with us."_

" _One more thing," He tells her, edging back towards the house. "Wait right here."_

_Stiles watches him go back inside and continues looking over the vehicle. It still looked the same as the pictures she had seen. The color made it look like it was brand-new, enough space to haul whatever she needed, and inside a police scanner. She isn't sure if her father has purposely put one in there or forgotten to take it out._

" _You're going to need this."_

_Stiles gives her father a deadpanned expression when she sees that he has a roll of duct tape in his hand, "Really?"_

" _Screaming metal death trap." He tells her, holding out the roll to her._

_Stiles gives him an amused smile, taking the roll, "Screaming metal death trap."  
_

"Have you eaten today?"

Stiles hears the question as she comes out of the memory. Scott has taken a seat next to her in the waiting room, "Have you?" She questions back.

"I'm not the one eating for two," Scott muses back. He gives her a soft look over before taking a deep breath, "You want to talk about what's gotten you so upset."

Stiles shakes her head somewhat, "Not really." But she can still feel Scott staring at her, "What are we going to do, Scott?" She questions him, her voice cracking. She turns to Scott giving him a broken expression, "What am I going to do?" Her hands shake slightly, "Gerard's building an armed army, we have a fear-enhancing creature lurking around somewhere, and my dad is dying." She tries to take a deep breath to control her breathing, "And there's nothing I can do about anything of those things because of this," She motions around her stomach as if to make a point.

"Hey," Scott says gently, taking her hands in his. "We will figure out to handle Gerard and the Anuk-Ite," He tells her with some conviction. "We always find a way, okay?" Stiles nods her head in response, "Now, let's get you something to eat."

* * *

Lydia is packing an overnight bag. She offered to get it for Stiles, so Stiles could stay at the hospital and not be far from her father. While for Stiles, it is a seemingly nice gesture but for Lydia, it was more of an excuse to get herself out of the hospital. She needed to do something about her nerves and if it meant doing something as tedious and unnecessary as getting an overnight bag then damn it she was going to.

She is placing Stiles' favorite large gray sweatshirt with a large mahogany S printed on it when the light in Stiles' bedroom begins to shift with a spider web pattern appearing on the walls. She throws the bag over her shoulder and heads down the stairs towards the kitchen.

As she fills a glass with water, the kitchen window that is located over the sink begins to crack. She focuses on the crack so hard she swears that the cracks seem to spread out like a spider web.

She reaches out to touch it, but as she does. The ringing of the phone breaks her train of thought causing her to glance away briefly. When she looks back to the window, she sees that the crack has disappeared and there is no sign of damage.

The phone continues to ring until Lydia picks it up and places it to her ear. A piercing electronic squeal comes from the handset.

As Lydia winces from the sound, her surroundings start to morphing from the Stilinski living room to a concrete room that has a massive spider web filling the full length.

As she touches it in different spots, she hears screams, sounds crawling sound, sounds of growling, and then a clear voice claiming, "She let it out. It was supposed to ride the storm forever."

She jerks away and ends up wrapping herself up in the web. She tries to untangle herself, but in doing so she's back in the living room, rightfully shaken as she recognizes that the basement was the same they found Stiles years before.

* * *

It is sundown when Noah's heart rate monitor begins to beep more slowly, and Noah's breathing grows labored. Stiles moves out the way as the buzzing of the staff work around the bedside and the call for a crash cart seems surreal. But for her, the memories of her father come crashing down.

_The Sheriff is standing beside is standing by a figure on the ground, "Stiles, you need to get up." However, young Stiles doesn't move a muscle, but instead stays on the ground, "Come on. You gotta get up now. You need to get up."_

_None of the gentle urgings seems to affect Stiles. The Sheriff kneels down behind Stiles and places a hand on her shoulder a prompting hand covers his, "Hey." He tries to get Stiles's concentration away from the casket that is on the ground with them, "You still got me."  
_

_This seems to be enough as a teenage Stiles finally turns away from the casket and into the Sheriff's embrace_.

Another flash.

_Stiles and her Dad are having dinner in the cruiser. They rarely did it, but Stiles always enjoyed it. They are eating the good ole past time food of America. Hamburgers and curly fries. Well, one of them was._

_"Did they forget my curly fries?" Sheriff Stilinski questions her._

_"You're not supposed to be eating fries, Dad. Especially the curly ones." She chastises him. It is more of the fact she didn't want to share them._

_"If I am carrying a lethal weapon, I will have the curly fries if I want the curly fries."_

_"If you think that getting rid of contractions in all your sentences makes your argument anymore legitimate. You are wrong." She tells him with a laugh. This earns her a look from her Dad as she happily popped a fry in her mouth._

Another flash.

_Noah Stilinski wakes up in a hospital bed, hooked to a machine. He sees a sleeping Stiles waiting by his side. He reaches out, placing a hand on top of the teen's head, waking up the teen, "It's okay Stiles." He assures with a gentle smile, as she looks at him, "You_ _still_ _got me."_

Too many memories are coming to her at once and, she sure she would've passed out had Derek not caught her by her waist.

They watch the team attempt CPR before using the panels. They shock him once, twice, each time Noah's body arching off the bed before flopping back down, pale, and lifeless.

"Maybe-" Derek starts to say.

"No," Stiles interrupts him in a whisper, almost as she knew what he was going to say. "I want to be here. I want to stay."

After a few more shocks, there is no change.

"I'm calling it," Dr. Geyer says to his team. "Time of death 2020 hours." He turns to Stiles, "I'm sorry for your loss."

But Stiles doesn't respond to his condolences. She just stares at her father's lifeless body on the bed.

"Could you give us a minute?" Stiles questions him, her voice a bit softer than normal.

Dr. Geyer nods his head slightly, "Of course."

In a manner of seconds, Dr. Geyer and his team are out of the room, leaving Derek and Stiles.

"He's gone," She whispers. "He's gone and I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Derek closes his eyes, remembering the night he lost his own family. He'd never gotten to say goodbye to them either, and it was a regret he still carried with him to this day.

"He knows, Stiles." Derek shares, "He knows how much you loved him and that you were here for him until the end. He knows how brave you are, how strong. How capable. He died a happy man because of you, Stiles."

The door to the room opens with Scott and Lydia in the threshold and Stiles immediately break away from him to be wrapped in the arms of her friends.

* * *

Derek waits silently outside Noah's room as Stiles, Scott, and Lydia say their final goodbyes.

He knows that he can't rush the process, but he wants nothing more than to return home with Stiles so she can rest and mourn. The things they learned today can be handled by the others.

He hears the door to Noah's room opens and sees the trio's eyes are red from crying and without a word, Stiles walks past Derek as if she doesn't see him and heads for the elevator.

He is about to follow when Scott and Lydia block him from going any further, "Don't follow her," Scott warns, his arms crossed. "Effective immediately, you cannot show up to the rest of the prenatal appointments. Those will be conducted at the Eichen. Until Stiles goes into labor, you stay away from her. My mom will send you reports after each appointment."

"Scott now is not the time for you to be overly protective," Derek argues, looking over the werewolf's shoulder to see that Stiles is pressing the button to call the elevator.

"He's not," Lydia tells him.

It takes a second, but Derek realizes what Stiles has done, "She can't do that," Derek argues, feeling slightly panicked as the door to the elevator that has arrived.

"Yes, she can," Lydia says with remorse. "The confidentiality clause in the contracts guards her anonymity every step of the way. If she doesn't want you anywhere near her until the baby is born, then you can't be."

Derek looks from Lydia and sees that Stiles has stepped onto the elevator and when their eyes contact he sees emptiness.


	8. Return of the Devil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I'm doing my best to do better! I've got the other chapters in the works, but work has got me into overtime. Thanks so much for your patience and understanding!

_Stiles and her father are playing a game of chess. Only they're not in his hospital room nor are they at home. She knows where they are because it's the same room that she remembers seeing her mother 10 years ago._

_And rather than just seeing the Nemeton from the distance as she has done before, she and her father are sitting on the stump as if it were one of their traditions. As if he was in the room with her as well, but she knows. She knows that what she is seeing isn't really him, but she isn't ready to let him go. Not yet anyway._

_She looks at the board. She is playing the black pieces while her father is playing the white. The game appears to be an intense one. To someone who doesn't know much about chess, it will seem that Stiles is the one who has a chance in winning considering that she more pieces on the board._

_But Stiles isn't someone who doesn't know. She's not an exact master, but she knows she is trouble because while her king heavily guarded by three pawns, she is one move from being in checkmate with her father's white knight._

" _Are you okay?" He questions her, breaking her thought process, "Is it the baby?"_

_Stiles gives a light laugh, "No, the baby is fine." She rubs her hand down her stomach, "She's just kicking up a storm. Tends to get like that when I'm upset."_

_Her father gives a sympathetic expression, "Is it about the fight with you and Derek?"_

_Stiles tilts her head to the side, "It's part of it." She admits carefully, "It's mostly because of a dream I had." She chuckles uneasily, "It was actually... It was more like a reoccurring nightmare."_

_"What happened?"_

" _You died," Stiles answers weakly._

_Noah doesn't blink at her answer,_ _"Stiles if it was just a dream, why do you look so worried?"_

_"Because I didn't wake up…Not from that," Her voice starts to tremble. "But this?" She gestures between the two of them, "This…" She stops herself unable to say the words out loud. "The last time I was in this place I was dead. I saw Mom standing in this exact spot we're sitting in right now, but unlike before I can remember what happened before I found myself here." Her lip starts to tremble, "And I don't want to wake up," Her voice cracks. "I don't want to go back knowing that won't you be with me."_

" _Mieczysława Stilinski," Noah says, surprising Stiles by calling her by her birth name. The fact that her father calls her by real name only causes a numbing pain in her chest to blossom, "No matter what happens I'll always be with you, do you understand?" Stiles nods her head unable to stop the tears falling from her face, "Good." He looks down at the board between them, particularly at his white knight._

_Stiles immediately starts shaking her head as she watches him reach for his white knight, "Don't let me go," She begs him, unable to move her arms to prevent him from completing the move. "Please don't make me go."_

" _I'm sorry kiddo," He tells her with a broken and proud smile, "But you have to."_

_When he moves his white knight in the checkmate position, Stiles feels the room around the beginning to change._

* * *

Two weeks have passed since Derek had seen Stiles.

And out of the 14 days of not seeing her there were two times when her name was mentioned.

It was Day 3 after seeing her, that Erica and Boyd informed him that Stiles had pushed back the opening of Beacon Academy; resulting in the students of the Preserve to attend Beacon Hills High School in the upcoming week.

Five days later, making it Day 8, Melissa dropped off her report from her prenatal appointment with Stiles. Melissa explained to him that everything did appear to be normal despite the circumstances. She also told him Noah's memorial was happening that following evening.

Derek wasn't sure if she told him out of pity or not.

After that, there was nothing.

Until now...

Derek is feeling a sense of helplessness and urgency as he hurries his way through Eichen House to find Erica and Boyd already waiting for him there, "How bad is it?"

"They just put Lydia in a room," Boyd explains to him. He seems almost quite hesitant about giving Derek his findings, "Scott's been missing since she's been in surgery."

He notices that Boyd hasn't given him the news on one other person, "What about Stiles?"

But he knows. He knows it in his heart, but he needs someone to say out aloud.

"She's gone," Erica whispers.

Derek feels his heart sink to the bottom of his stomach. Feelings of anger and worry taking over his mental state. And most of all, he feels regret for letting Stiles walk out on him in the first place. He needs to go out and find her, find her before Gerard hurts her or their child.

"Alpha Hale," Dr. Conrad, Eichen House's lead doctor comments, making his way into the lobby. "I was told that you were to be expected. You can see her now if you'd like."

Erica speaks instantly, "Of course, we would."

Derek questions, "Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes, but she will be out for a couple of more hours," He explains to them as he escorts them a door. "But the good news is that the bullets missed everything that matters."

When he opens the door, they see Isaac sitting in the chair beside Lydia holding onto her hand, "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to use the nurse's call button." Without another word, the doctor walks away, focusing on his next patient.

Derek sees that Lydia has minor scratches on her face, but the scent of the blood still managed to linger in the room. There is something else too.

"Isaac?"

The cheerful and friendly werewolf Derek recalls meeting just over two months ago isn't anywhere to be seen. Instead what Derek smells is a walking ticking bomb of an angry werewolf. His eyes are tear-stained red while his hands are clenched into fists. Derek notices that blood is dripping from them.

"I'm going to kill him."

The declaration is hard and cold, but no one needs to question Isaac on the "him" in question.

"We need to find him first," Scott's voice informs them, causing everyone to look back at the door. "Derek, there's someone you need to meet."

It is not long before Derek, Erica, and Boyd are following Scott as he leads them underground into the tunnel system, "Is it even safe to be down here?" Erica questions with some uneasiness.

Scott doesn't look over his shoulder as he leads them to a door, but does answer the question, "It is if you know the correct way."

He places a hand on a scanner that is attached to the wall. It makes a beeping sound and the door automatically opens and he walks inside.

Boyd, Erica, and Derek give each other uncertain looks as if to say _is this a good idea?_

While Derek does shake his head with the unanswered question, he goes into the bunker first and comes face to face with a young woman with bruises on her face, exposing a serious expression, Scott looks from the woman to Derek, "Derek, meet Allison Argent."

"No," Derek says without hesitation, "No way."

"You have no reason to trust me, Derek," Allison tells him in an empathetic tone. "After what my aunt and grandfather have done to your family, along with everyone else, I don't blame you." Derek stares at her silently, "But I don't have the luxury of standing around and waiting for you to decide if you want to trust me or not."

"When you found out that Kate had been behind the fires, I knew that we would need outside help in searching for her after she disappeared," Scott explains to him. "Allison has been our eyes and ears for the past couple of years about Gerard."

Erica scoffs at the statement, "Well she didn't seem to do a very good job."

Allison doesn't blink at the vocal diss, she is too busy watching Derek, who is watching her with an unimpressed expression, "And what did you find out," He questions her.

Allison indicates further into the bunker, "Come see for yourself."

She steps to the side, allowing Derek to go further inside the bunker and Derek can't hide his awe of the wall that Allison has directed him to. Along with Boyd and Erica, he is amazed at the calendars, images, and sticky notes with thumb-tacked pieces of string connecting the pieces of information. He looks alongside the wall, taking in the pictures and articles covering most of the wall.

His eyes stop at a pinned polaroid picture of a young Allison with a couple smiling in the background with the caption _"Nous protégeons Ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger"_ is written in the white space.

"We protect those who cannot protect themselves," Derek translates more to himself. He focuses on Allison who has been watching them with silent patience, "This isn't your family's code."

"I go by a new principle," She tells him. "There's a lot that we need to talk about, but first we need to find Stiles."

Erica questions, "How are we going to find her when the one person that possibly can is lying unconscious in a hospital bed?"

"I'm already working on that," Allison answers with confidence.

* * *

"I don't know anything!" A hunter cries just as a human Malia bangs his head against a mirror causing it to crack. The pressure is intense enough that the man's face begins to start bleeding unto the cracks, "I swear. I don't know who ordered the hit on the house."

Malia growls in frustration, "Did you know who was there?" Malia questions the man angrily, "Did you know that there were people who were ordinary in there?"

The man starts crying, "No, I didn't know anything." Malia lets him go, but the man is smart enough to move slowly and face the enraged werecoyote, "I don't know anything."

This claim seems to enrage Malia further as she grabs him by the collar of his shirt pulling him close, "Maybe you haven't noticed, but in the past five minutes I've been having trouble restraining myself." Malia tells the man in a calm voice as her eyes go blue, "When I don't have that people tend to get hurt."

The man focuses on Braeden Tandy, a mercenary, who is standing quietly in the corner of the room, "Please…Stop her."

She gives the man a detached expression, "I don't have any control over her." She says plainly, "Maybe you should answer her questions."

"I swear I don't know!" The man cries out. Malia grunts in frustration, releasing the man with a shove, "Please don't kill me!"

"You think I'm going to kill you?" Malia laughs in a manic manner, "You think we're all killers?" She takes a step and the man cowers in fear, "Maybe we should be."

"You're gonna kill him?" Braeden questions with some interest in her voice. The man looks to her as if he has suddenly gained an ally, "I mean, I don't care if you do." She shares turning the tables on him, "But, have you thought this through?" She questions the werecoyote, "Any idea where you're gonna dump the body?"

Malia hands shake slightly, "I can eat him."

"Works for me," Braeden states in a bored tone.

"Killing me isn't going to stop what Gerard is planning!" The hunter shouts at them.

Braeden gives the man a look of interest, "I thought you said you didn't know anything."

The man's eyes widen in fear as he realizes he played right into their hands, "I-I…"

Braeden shakes her head at him in disappointment, turning her back away from Malia and the unknown hunter, a fierce growl fills the room, "No more lies."

* * *

"Hopefully, they'll find something out. While we wait on that are other matters we need to discuss," Allison tells them when she sees the surprised expressions on the Hale pack members.

Erica's eyes widen at the thought, "What do you mean?"

_Allison Argent, crossbow in hand, runs in the rain towards a tunnel located in Cabeceiras, Brazil to meet with police contact. The mood of the location isn't ideal due to the sound of thunder filling the air, rain pouring down, and lightning cracking through the sky._

_When she reaches the tunnel, a man is leaning against an unmarked patrol car. She takes shelter from the rain, only to find that man has already pulled out a gun on him._

_Allison isn't surprised at the action, "Is that necessary?"  
_

_The Officer doesn't put down the gun, "An Argent asks me to meet one of them alone in the middle of the night?" The Officer question rhetorically, "I bring a gun."_

_Allison doesn't remind him that he is the one who contacted her first._

_Allison nods her head in understanding as she pulls out an envelope and hands it to him. The Officer lowers his gun, taking the envelope and opens it up to see that it is filled with cash, "You trying to insult me with a bribe?" He questions as if he is truly insulted.  
_

_"It's payment for anyone willing to give information," Allison answers in a business-like tone._

_"You're going to need more than this if you want anyone to talk," The Officer advises. "And it's not about greed."_

_"Fear?"_

_"Superstition," He corrects her._

_"What kind?"_

_"You don't want to know," He turns around towards his car to leave, but Allison isn't finished with the conversation as she shoots an arrow rather close to the man's feet, causing him to halt. "But I came here specifically to find out things I don't wanna know," She tells him casually, "Tell me what everyone's so afraid of down here." She says. The man finally faces her, but she gives him an expression of confidence, "You might be surprised at how open-minded I can be."_

"He showed me the site where twelve bodies, werewolves, had been burned with the words Beacon Hills written on the walls," Allison shares in a grim tone.

Derek's jaw clenches at the news, "When?"

"If my timeline is correct, it happened around the same time, if not close, to the murder of the Talbot siblings," Allison shares with them. "When Scott had told me that Gerard was back in Beacon Hills, I knew there was only one person who could've been behind the murder of the family. Kate." She sighs, "It took some time, almost a month before we started hearing rumors about her being seen in Mexico. We got some intel on the location, but…"

_Braeden, Isaac, and Allison are trailing through some catacombs. Braeden and Allison are armed with their flashlights and their preferred weapons with Isaac ahead of them, "If we find Kate in here, what are you gonna do with her?"  
_

" _I haven't decided," Allison answers honestly. "She has a lot to answer for too many families."_

_She steps over one of the many skeletons that have been scattered and shattered on the ground floor. She nearly crashes into Isaac who has suddenly stopped in front of them, "What?" Braeden whispers sensing his uneasiness._

_"There's something else in here," He whispers, looking around the space they are in.  
_

_"Something like what?" She and Isaac peer down the dark passageway with the little light they had._

_Allison, who has been checking their backs briefly sees skeletons moving in the dark, "Something not human," Allison answers in a whisper._

_No one moves, but in the still air a breathing echo starts filling the air, "You hear that?"_

" _Do you not smell that?" Isaac retorts with a tone of disgust. "It smells like death in here," His face wrinkles.  
_

_The breathing suddenly disappears and is slowly begins to be replaced with something else._

_Footsteps, along with multiple growling sounds that seem to be closing in on them._

_"Where is it?" Allison questions the others in a whisper, "Do you see it?"_

_"No, I don't know!" Isaac whispers at her, "I can't see anything!"_

_"Where is this thing?"_

_Whatever, the hell it is, has started circling them and the growling is now getting closer and closer as whispers start filling the air.  
_

_"It's everywhere!"_

"I don't remember what happened after that," Allison finishes. "None of us do, but we woke up with a concussion and a few broken ribs, in the Calavera Compound." She scratches the top of her eyebrow.

"The Calaveras?"

"A hunting family. They're the ones who told us where Kate had been rumored to be seen," Allison answers. "The Matriarch failed to mention beforehand that she had sent four of her people there without any of them returning." She crosses her arms, showing that she is still peeved, "Whatever was down there hits hard enough that even a werewolf needs time to heal. Would've gone back too if I hadn't gotten Scott's message about Stiles' father."

Boyd's eyes fall to a map with several red dots marking various places around the globe. One is marked close to their location while others are marked in Toulouse (France), Brasilia (Brazil), Danzao (China), Łagów (Russia), and Armidale (Australia), "What do the red dots mean?"

"I have an explanation for that," Isaac's voice says as he appears at the bunker door.

"Malia's at Eichen with Lydia and Braeden is taking care of the hunter, who has no idea on who ordered the attack on Stiles' home, so we should assume the attack is an isolated incident," Isaac shares with them as he pops a breath mint in his mouth, "However, he was very open in talking about the map when Braeden mentioned it. It's a map of the Nemetons around the world that he got from Gerard."

"There's one for each continent," Erica says. "Well, at least excluding Antarctica."

"Right, but unlike the one here, they haven't been active in thousands of years."

Boyd questions, "What does Gerard want with them?"

"If they're like the one here, then they're beacons for supernaturals." Isaac continues, crossing his arms, "And if you have the desire to kill every supernatural creature in the world, these are where you would start."

"Then Gerard isn't going to stop with Beacon Hills," Scott realizes. "He wants the whole world."

"There's something else that you need to know," Isaac shares, eyeing Allison in particular. "Malia said she caught a strange scent lingering within Stiles' home, I stopped there on the way and it was exactly like that smell in the catacombs where Kate had been seen."

Isaac's last statement leaves an unasked question lingering in the air.

"If Kate's back in Beacon Hills," Allison says, breaking the silence. "There's only one place she could've taken Stiles, but we all can't go and risk her taking off with Stiles."

Erica questions, "So, what do you expect the rest of us to do?"

For a moment it seems that Allison doesn't have an answer, but Derek watches her as she seems to be having a million thoughts in her head before answering, "No doubt word about the shooting has circulated through the Preserve, so Boyd, Erica, and Isaac, you three go see the families. Stiles and her father did a lot for them, with his passing and the shooting, I know they'll be taking it personally; make sure that they don't act out on it. Scott, you go back to Eichen to get yourself checked out and be with Lydia; I'm sure they would prefer having someone, who isn't going to maul every orderly checking in on her within the room. Derek and I will bring our girl home."

* * *

Stiles wakes up to see that she is lying on a floor. She immediately knows that she's not at home because she's certain that her home didn't have a massive hole in the wall (unlike that one time, thank you Scott and Jackson). That and the floor is disgusting.

Gross.

Sitting up, she feels a heavyweight on her right leg and an ache in her shoulder. It takes her brain a second to realize that she has been shot which then leads her to panic about the baby. But when she feels a kick, a strong one, it's all she needs to know that the baby is fine. What isn't fine, is the wound that is now bleeding slightly from what she can see due to the little light that is provided. And the weight she feels on her leg is a chain wrapped around her ankle and bolted to the floor.

She also feels a throbbing pain across her face. She touches her face carefully, only move her finger away and find blood on her fingertips.

Where the hell is she?

"Look, who's finally awake," A none too friendly voice she recognizes comments. Stiles has to blank her eyes to get used to the darkness, surprised that Kate Argent is standing in front of her with a look of triumphant on her face, "Good cause you don't want to miss what happens next."

And right in front of her Kate starts changing, her face changes to a dark blue, as her lips turn black, while her teeth transformed into fangs, and her eyes take on a greenish hue.

Stiles backs as close to the wall as possible muttering, "Holy…"

Out of all the things that she expected from Kate, her shifting into a supernatural creature hadn't been on top of the list.

Hell, it wasn't even on the list.

"H-how?"

Kate seems almost pleased at Stiles' inability to form a proper question. She takes a step closer, her eyes watching Stiles as if she were hunting her, "Let's just say that Derek isn't the last Alpha I've tangled with." She gives her a feigned friendly smile, "My first full moon was the hardest, but something kept pulling me to a place called la Iglesia, to the temple of Tezcatlipoca. When I got there, I found the Berserkers waiting for me. They helped me survive."

"The Church?" Stiles questions even more confused as she tries to think why exactly Kate would go to such a place like that. There isn't much that she remembers about the place herself. All she can fully remember is that an earthquake had leveled the town surrounding it, but there had been rumors about why the structure remained standing…supernatural rumors. "La Loba," Stiles calls her. "The Bone Woman."

Kate gives her an impressed smile, "So you know the legend." She gives Stiles an interested look over, "You seem to know a lot of things, then maybe you can help me out with another then."

"Okay…"

"You know the history of my family," She turns away from Stiles, walking away. "I'm sure they educated you and your classmates about us." She stops suddenly as she nears the wall with a hole in it, "So explain to me how a 400-year-old powerful, wealthy, aristocratic family of werewolf hunters' reputation gets decimated by an ancient power rumored to be gone."

"What makes you think that has anything to do with what happened?"

"You know as well as I do," Kate tells her. "That people will say anything and everything to save their lives."

Stiles feels a vibration through her body. It isn't from what Kate has said, but how she said it.

Someway, somehow in the past month and a half since she disappeared, Kate learned about the Nemeton.

* * *

Meanwhile, at Eichen, a peeved Malia is standing in an elevator with Scott, "You want to tell me why we're sneaking into the Ward when Lydia could be waking up any second?"

While Stiles and her father were able to rehabilitate some of the members of the Preserve from the tragedy ten years ago, not all patrons were exactly willing.

Just like with the old Eichen House building, the Clinic had a special place for supernatural beings that were putting the town's human population at risk. But unfortunately, the Clinic didn't lay on the strongest convergence of telluric currents in Beacon Hills, so it resorted to having to take the rowan wood and mountain ash from the original Eichen House to the Clinic to rebuild the wing. The wood and mountain ash functioned as its security system; it kept the creatures who are meant to stay inside from easily escaping and prevents other supernatural beings from coming inside if they aren't meant to do so.

Only a flaw was discovered in the design a year after it was built, due to a wendigo somehow escaping, and it forced the Clinic to upgrade its security with no one being able to get in or out of the Ward without an access key.

"She's not going to be waking up anytime soon," Scott explains to her. "There's a reason why when Lydia needs absolute silence and focus when she initiates a premonition. She's a powerful banshee, which while is a good thing can be bad. Whenever she purposely goes into a hypnotic state, the voices that she hears can get so loud that she can lose her way."

Malia is confused by the explanation, "What does that even mean?"

The elevator dings when they reach the bottom of Eichen and open its doors. Scott gets off with Malia following him already knowing where they needed to go, "It means that Lydia will stay unconscious until we find a way to bring her back."

They turn a corner are walking down a hall that has multiple glass cells that appear to contain other supernatural creatures, "Then how do we bring her back?"

"We'll need Meredith's help."

"Who the hell is Meredith?"

Scott stops them at a cell and uses a key card to enter the room. The occupant doesn't react to their presence as Scott and Malia enter the room.

"Meredith?" Scott calls to her, "It's Scott. Scott McCall. "Can you hear me?" Meredith doesn't give him an answer, "We need your help. Lydia is lost somewhere in her mind." Not even mentioning Lydia's name gets him a response, "We're trying to get her out of there."

Malia tries to help as well, "Meredith, listen." She kneels to her level, "There are people in Beacon Hills trying to hurt us and we can't stop them unless Lydia's with us." She places a begging hand on Meredith's, "Please, help us so we can protect everyone."

This seems to spark a response from Meredith as she takes her other hand, grabbing hold of Scott's and places it on the back of her neck, "I could hurt you." However, Meredith pushes his fingers harder against her neck, "Okay." He looks to Malia, "Keep a lookout."

Malia nods her head and with a flick of his fingers, Scott inserts his claws into Meredith's neck.

* * *

Kate is now kneeling in front of Stiles, "You're smart enough not to lie to me." She gives Stiles a thoughtful look over, "So tell me what I want to know."

"There is nothing to know," Stiles tells her, and she hates that it comes out in shakiness and not strong. "Because I don't know myself. Even after all these years, the only thing I can tell you is that it brought me back to life the night I died." She tries not to blink at Kate's unwavering stare, "That's all I know."

"It brought you back to life?" Kate questions her with some interest. "It brought you back from the dead?" Stiles nods her head unable to speak, watching as Kate taps a claw on the floor, dangerously close to her leg, "Where can I find it?"

"You can't," Stiles tells her. She swallows nervously, "It has a mind of its own. If it doesn't want to be found, then it's not going to be found." She notices that Kate is now clenching her hands, correction her claws, into a tight fist, "It's getting worse, isn't it? The surges of anger. The loss of control." Her breath comes out shaky, "Soon you won't be able to blame the moon for your actions."

Kate gives her an unimpressed expression, "You think you know everything, don't you?"

"I know that when you tried to go back to your father, after publicly denouncing the family name a decade ago, you had to reprove your loyalty to the Argent name by doing something completely dangerous," Stiles tells her. "You were a skilled hunter, no surprise that you probably achieved the goal, but it's also been so long that you slipped somehow. Made a mistake." Her breathing starts to become more solid as she continues, "You're smart though, you wanted until the full moon to see if it had cost you your father's blessing and it did." Stiles blinks for the first time since their conversation started, "So now, you can't go back unless you can exhibit absolute and total control."

Kate eyes her dangerously and for a moment Stiles thinks she's good as dead, but to her surprise, Kate gets up trying to keep herself in control and storms out of the room. She lets out a sigh of relief, leaning her head against the wall. However, she doesn't miss the moving shadows that seemed to have been following Kate.

* * *

Inside Meredith's mind, Scott follows Meredith as she leads him to the elevator that takes them out of the Ward. However, when they step into the machine it doesn't move after it closes its doors. Scott is confused as to what is going on, but just as he is about to ask, it dings and the doors open.

Scott's eyes widen as he sees that they're in the middle of Stiles' home. The house looks completely untouched, free of the disaster that transpired over an hour ago. Meredith takes a step of the elevator easily and Scott quickly follows suite.

The moment he does, a distressed Lydia appears in front him on her knees as she covers her ear, wincing in pain.

In the real world, Malia is standing by the door with Scott standing rock still, his claws embedded in Meredith's neck.

Just as luck would have it, Malia spots two orderlies coming from down the hall checking the cells. Moving quickly, she closes the door to Meredith's cell and rips off the electronic card reader, facing the two orderlies on her own. She takes out the two orderlies easily but is then confronted by a very large, muscular guard who seems to growl as he rushes toward Malia.

Back inside Meredith's mind, Lydia is starting to cry, "She doesn't have much time," Meredith warns him. "She's going to being consumed by her power and then the voices will be loud enough to kill her."

"How do we stop it?"

"You can't," Meredith tells him. "But I can." Scott gives her a questioning expression, "I'm the one who taught her how to use her power, but it's too dangerous for someone like you to be around us. You need to go."

Scott removes his claws from Meredith's neck, but can still hear the whisper of her voice, "I'll save her."

He jumps when the door slams open and a large, muscular guard stands there for a moment before collapsing forwarding to the room.

Malia is standing behind him, "Is he out?" She questions, tired from the fight.

Scott checks the guard over, "Yeah."

"Finally," She breathes out just before shifting back into her coyote form.

* * *

Allison and Derek are walking down a dirt road with Allison armed with a machine gun. They have abandoned Allison's vehicle a mile back. While there had been an understanding silence between the two of them, the tension underneath it is too much for Allison, "Whatever you're feeling right now," Allison tells him. "I suggest you let out because where we're going, you're going to need a clear head."

"You're not my ally," Derek declares in a hard tone. "You're a hunter."

"You're right. I am a hunter." Allison agrees calmly, "Trained before I could even speak, and I've trained with others. But that's not the question you want to ask me."

"What's your grudge with Kate and Gerard?"

"They're trying to kill my friends," She answers in an obvious manner. "That's enough reason for me." She then quickly taps a finger alongside the machine gun she is armed with, her signal for them to stop.

Ahead of them, Derek sees is a faded sign that reads _Argent Arms International,_ "My dad used to bring me here." She tells him, "We used to own the building." She gives an uncomfortable shoulder roll, "It was part of our business." A moment of awkward silence falls between them, "We should be careful because whatever attacked me and the others in the catacombs might still be here."

Derek and Allison make their way inside the abandoned warehouse. The warehouse is filled with plastic covering with papers and other office-like equipment scattered along the floor.

"I knew you'd find me," Kate's voice echoes through the building.

"Where is she?" Derek questions as he and Allison search the building for Kate's presence. He can smell something in the building with them. Something that isn't exactly right.

"But you shouldn't have come here, Allison," Kate says as her large silhouette appears from behind a plastic covering. Allison immediately turns the machine gun in her hands towards the figure.

Her steps get closer, "But... I was hoping we could do this later." She rotates her neck as if she is releasing the tension, "I just needed a little more time." As she speaks, two silhouettes join her, one on each side.

Allison still has her weapon trained to where Kate's figure, her eyes focused, "For what?"

"To learn control," Kate answers as she walks around the plastic covering, revealing her werejaguar shift. This takes both Derek and Allison by surprise, but neither one of them breaks their determined expressions, "Lower the gun, Allison."

Behind her, they see the two figures more clearly. They wear elaborate but crudely constructed armor made entirely of bone and skin. Their faces and head are covered with wear bear skulls.

"Berserkers," Allison breathes out.

"We walk away." Kate offers, "And you don't have to get hurt again."

"You know I'm not going to let that happen," Allison says with absolution, her finger closing in on the trigger.

"You want to kill me, Allison?" Kate questions, her face completely calm.

"I still haven't decided." Allison answers, "But I do know I don't want to save you because I know if you're not worth saving."

Kate doesn't seem to be insulted at Allison's answer, "You're just like your father when he and I were kids," Kate tells her with a slow nod. "He was always trying to make me the bad guy." She declares, "When are you going to realize that none of them are your family? Not after they killed your parents?"

Allison doesn't blink at the mentioning of her parents, "They are my family."

Without another word, Allison starts firing at the Berserkers.

* * *

Back in her mind, Meredith kneels in front of Lydia.

Lydia is covered in sweat with her hands still covering her ear. Her lips tremble horribly as she tries to keep herself from screaming. She doesn't to react to Meredith's sudden appearance, "I'm here to help you," Meredith tells her, before grabbing Lydia from both sides of her head and releases a piercing scream.

* * *

Allison seems to have her lost her gun in the fray as a Berserker punches her into a table. Her body shakes the table upon impact, but the Berserker doesn't halt its speed as it goes after with a fist ready. Allison rolls off the table just in time as the Berserker's fist meets the table, breaking it into two.

Derek dodges a punch from the other Berserker him, but still focuses on trying to find Stiles through the chaos. He goes to attack the same Berserker, but the creature sends him to the floor with an easy smack across the face. He ends up sliding onto the ground but as he tries to get back to his feet the attacking Berserker sends him flying with a punch. This sends Derek flying through multiple cubicle walls. The last cubicle wall is attached to an empty room. He groans in pain, rolling onto his side, but in doing so his breath nearly stops when he sees Stiles with her mouth covered with tape, covered with blood, and chained to the floor. Fear covers her face as the Berserker that Derek has been fighting steps into the room.

Allison sends punches to the armored creature, but nothing seems to work as the creature seems to corner her before attempting to send a punch her way. She dodges the blow, ducking off to the side, just as the Berserker's fist meets a column that gets slightly shattered into dust.

* * *

Lydia is seeming tired, but is relived at Meredith's presence, "Thank you."

Meredith shakes her head, "You're not out of the woods yet." She helps Lydia up to her feet, "I've managed to separate the voices from you, but they're your voices, not mine. You need to focus on invoking another premonition."

Lydia looks at her with surprise, "How exactly am I supposed to do that?" She gestures around them, "I'm stuck inside my head."

"The way you've always done it," Meredith tells her. "By using your voice like a bullet."

Lydia is about to argue that the logic doesn't make, but when she hears someone groaning in pain, she turns and sees Allison losing her fight with a Berserker.

* * *

The Berserker sends another punch to Allison's face. She staggers back on her feet slightly, but the Berserker's attacks are relentless as it starts choking her. She forces the creature's arms up with a shove of her own, but the creature quickly then sends a double fist attack down on her head, knocking her to the floor. It grabs hold of her shoulder with one specific bone protruding from its armor ready to strike.

Throughout, her fight with the Berserker, Allison's body has been radiating with pain. Her injuries from the catacombs started to flare up, hindering her ability to fight against the creature, and she berates herself for not letting herself heal yet. She, in a way, accepts her fate with the Berserker and closes her eyes, but not before she feels a familiar sensation radiate throughout her body.

She hears a whisper of her name, "Allison…" Just before a familiar banshee-like wail echoes through her ears without seemingly affecting her, but the Berserker as it releases her, stepping back and holding onto its head as if it hears the wail. Though the wailing has stopped the creature's body vibrates entirely, causing a crack in its skull that gets bigger before the creature shatters into dust.

_Meanwhile, at Eichen, Scott and Malia have patiently returned to Lydia's room without any further incidents. Scott is holding onto Lydia's hand, hoping for any sign that Meredith has been able to help bring Lydia back when she suddenly snaps upright releasing a piercing scream that causes the lights to explode._

"Lydia?" Allison calls out to her friend as she opens her eyes. Only Allison discovers that she is alone in the main part of the building. Kate is nowhere in sight, but she hears voices muttering in the distance. She pushes herself off the floor, holding onto the side where she still has the bruised rib and slowly makes her way to the sound.

She is almost close to passing out when she hears another call of her name. This time closer and clearer than the one from before. As her vision begins to blur, she feels a light hum overtake her and she takes a deep breath, "Stiles."

* * *

Isaac, Erica, and Boyd are standing amid pieces of broken glass, bullet-filled walls, and a blood-streaked floor. They can smell the blood and fear that has lingered in the air. But it wasn't just blood and fear that lingered in the air. There is something else in there too.

Rage. Rage with a hint of death written all over it.

Isaac's phone beeps as multiple notifications come through. He quickly pulls it out and opens the messages and breaths a breath of relief, "They found Stiles. Heading to the Clinic now." He reads aloud, "Lydia's woken up too."

"Thank God," Erica says with a relief of her own as she leans her head on Boyd's shoulder.

"Thank God indeed," A voice agrees with her in an English accent. He looks in the direction of her voice and removes his sunglasses, revealing cloudy eyes with red irises.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will also be finishing up TNH: The Time In Between pt.2 this year because apparently that's been open for the past three years...Whoops!  
> Let me know what you want to see!  
> Hoping to have next update ready soon!  
> Stay safe! Wear a mask!


	9. The Other Problem

Isaac, Erica, including Boyd, stand quietly in the Stilinski home as Deucalion gives the appearance of taking in the damage that has been done.

"What are you doing here?" Boyd questions him.

"Stiles contacted me a couple of days ago," Deucalion answers in a business tone. He walks around the floor with pieces of glass crunching at his feet. "She was seeking my aide in stopping Gerard and his little protege."

"You've come to help us?" Erica questions the blind Alpha with some hope.

Deucalion gives her something that passes as a questionable expression, "Unfortunately, my fighting days are over."

Isaac crosses his arms with a snort, "I heard, you use to kill any living thing that got in your way." He clenches his hands together, "If you aren't here to help, then why come all this way just to give us a rejection that could've easily been sent through a message."

"I did a lot of things." Deucalion answers, "But, eventually the bodies pile up so high, that even a blind man can't ignore them."

"So what?" Erica questions, "You moved into a cave and took a vow of uselessness?"

"I changed," Deucalion corrects her as he turns to the direction of her voice. "And I live in a condo."

"Well, maybe you've changed, but Gerard hasn't," Boyd informs him. "And he's not gonna stop with Beacon Hills. He's got a map with places circled that host the Nemetons of the world." Deucalion listens with some interest, "You know him. You can outthink him; you can read him."

"He's been beaten before," Deucalion reminds them.

"He's got a lot of help now." Erica tells him, "Actually, he's got pretty much, everyone."

"You think Gerard's turned you into a pariah?" Deucalion questions them, "Your power does that. You'll always be an outsider because of your abilities." He faces the window with his back to them, "Gerard wasn't the first person to capitalize on the general public's fear of the other... And he won't be the last."

"So, help us stop him," Isaac tells him.

"I'm going to tell you what I was going to tell Stiles," Deucalion shares. "Stopping Gerard means killing him and unfortunately that chapter in my life's over and the last I heard she isn't in the condition to murder anyone."

Isaac tenses, "So that's it?" He questions with a hint of anger, "You're just a pacifist now?"

Erica feeds off Isaac's anger, "What's gonna stop me from slashing your throat?"

Deucalion turns his head at the threat, "Plenty."

Erica then jumps at him growling as she tries to take a swipe at him. However, Deucalion is easily able to step aside, causing her to miss him.

By the time, Erica regains her footing and stands up straight, she feels Deucalion behind her with his back against hers, "How'd you do that?"

"It's Bagua." Deucalion shares as he and Erica start walking with their backs against each other. "A martial art that takes the path of least resistance."

From the sideline, Isaac, and Boyd watch with interest.

Erica questions him with a hint of amusement, "You think you're going to beat me without fighting?"

"I think you're going to beat yourself."

Erica rises to the challenge as she flicks out her claw, kneeling to the floor. She aims to claw at Deucalion's legs but, like before, Deucalion manages to step out of the way.

But even as he does so, Erica has returned to standing on her feet and jumps at him. Deucalion moves effortlessly to the side as he uses one arm to knock Erica off-balance, causing her to fall on her stomach.

By the time she glares at him over her shoulder, he is offering a hand up.

She takes it, "Okay, so you can protect yourself." She tells him as he pulls her up, "But what about everyone else who doesn't know Bagua?" She says "Bagua" in a mocking manner. She questions him, "They're just gonna get their eyes stabbed out?" Deucalion doesn't react to the callout of Gerard's attack on him, "You really won't help us?"

"I didn't say I wouldn't help you." Deucalion points out, "I can offer you guidance. And my first piece of advice? You might need to lower your standards for allies." Erica opens her mouth to rebuttal, but Deucalion beats her to the punch, "Lower than me."

* * *

At Eichen House, Melissa is giving Scott, Derek, and Allison a report on Stiles' condition, "Aside from the cuts and the wound, she's going to be okay," Melissa shares with them as they stand outside Stiles' room. "The baby is doing great. There's no immediate danger for either of them. She's just going to need rest and a lot of it." She glances over to Allison, "We still need to get you checked over."

Allison waves a hand at Melissa, "I promise you, I'm fine." She massages her cheek that has a dark bruise, "Really, I just want to see Stiles right now."

"Alright, but if you start having headaches or anything that's not our ordinary you call me," Melissa orders her. She flicks her wrist to look at her watch, "Shoot, I'm going to be late to my shift at the hospital, they've been cracking down on us lately. Let me know if you need anything else."

She gives Scott a comforting hand and acknowledging a head nod to Derek before she rushes away.

Derek is the first to be at Stiles' side as Scott helps Allison take a seat in one of the chairs that occupied the room, "I'm fine," Derek hears Allison say as Scott starts worrying over her. "It's just a bit of pain, nothing I can't handle."

Derek turns to see Scott giving Allison a loving expression as one of his hands is placed gently on her arm. His veins turning a black color as he uses his pain transference ability. He turns away from the scene, remembering the once sweet moments he had shared with Kate as well.

"What happened?"

"Kate happened," Allison tells him and shares with him their encounters with the berserkers and Kate's new supernatural status. "I wouldn't have survived if it hadn't been for Lydia," She takes a breath, "Wouldn't have stayed conscious if it wasn't for Stiles."

"Derek," Scott calls to him. "What exactly happened when you found Stiles?"

_Derek groans in pain, after being punched into an empty room. He rolls onto his side, but in doing so his breath nearly stops when he sees Stiles with her mouth covered with tape, covered with blood, and chained to the floor. Fear covers her face as the Berserker that Derek has been fighting steps into the room._

_Derek quickly realizes that she isn't alone because Kate is standing right beside her with a seemingly patient hand on her head, "Maybe you just need a little guidance," Kate says to Stiles. She removes the tape from Stiles' mouth, "Now, that you've got an incentive, you'll answer my question."_

_Derek moves slowly so that the Berserker, along with Kate and Stiles are both in his sights. The Berserker hasn't made a move to attack him and focuses back on Kate, "Let him go," Stiles tells her._

" _You're not in the position to be making any demands," Kate reminds her. "But my offer still stands, tell me what I want to know, and we can all get out of here-" In the distance, they hear Allison taking on a Berserker by herself, "Alive."_

"It all happened so fast," Derek admits to them.

" _I already told you the Nemeton isn't going to be found if it doesn't want to be found," Stiles tells her. "So, you're just wasting your breath trying to find it."_

_Kate stares at Stiles for a moment, before saying, "Wrong answer."_

_The Berserker, that hasn't moved since it stepped into the room, breaks off one of its bones. But before it takes one step, the distance screams of a familiar banshee fill the room._

_At first, it doesn't seem that the scream has an effect on the Berserkers body as it only just rattles, but when Derek feels a humming sensation overcome his body, a sensation that he has become all too familiar with over the course of the months, Derek instinctively covers his ears._

_Derek knows that Kate can sense what is coming because her eyes widen in a mixture of fear and amazement before she hightails it out of the building through a hole._

_He watches Stiles' left eye pulsating to a silver glow as she lets out a scream of her own. The mix of Stiles and Lydia's banshee scream shatters the Berserker into dust as the surrounding room shakes._

"She passed out after that," Derek finishes. "We need to find her."

"We need to deal with Gerard and Monroe first," Allison informs him. "If you're worried about Kate going to Gerard, she won't," Allison shares with him. "She can't go anywhere near him. Not unless she can make up her transgression of being a shapeshifter." She looks to Derek in a serious manner, "Otherwise, she's just another target on his list." She winces slightly, getting up from her chair, "Even if she doesn't know it."

"And if she goes after Stiles again?"

"She's not going to," Allison says calmly. "The only reason she was able to do so was that she had the element of surprise with a deadly arsenal, now they're both gone."

"You still want to save her," Derek states in an accusatory tone. "Despite what you said at the warehouse, you still want to try and save her."

Allison stares at him in silence, her eyes calculating on what to say next, "If the roles were reversed, I'm sure that some part of you would hope that you can save the last bit of family you had left."

Tension starts to settle between the Huntress and Alpha, "We need to talk about this with the others," Scott reminds the two. "Try to remember that we're on the same side."

"I'm not the one with the problem," Allison says, not breaking her eye contact with Derek. "I'm going to go check on Lydia and send Malia here."

Without another word, she leaves the werewolves alone.

"I don't trust her," Derek tells Scott.

"You don't trust any of us," Scott answers, before leaving as well.

* * *

A couple hours later, Scott, the Hale pack, along with Allison, Isaac, and Braeden meet at the Hale house to discuss their plan on what to do about the impending threat that has laid to rest in Beacon Hills.

"A couple of days after Noah's passing, Stiles pushed back the opening of Beacon Academy." Scott shares with the group, "We had hoped that the rumors about Liam had died down over the summer. They didn't." He has a pensive expression, "Not even a week into the school year, Liam was ambushed in the hallway by a group of students that were trying to get him to shift. Thankfully, he didn't, but the harassment for the Preserve students haven't stopped there. There have been multiple instances where kids are either being questioned and attacked or worse, missing." Erica sighs heavily at the news, "The group seems to be going after other kids, not just ours."

"It has to be Monroe," Erica voices with confidence. "She has access to student records and knows who lives where, she could've easily sent out a list of anyone who potentially has a connection to us," She taps a finger on the table. "Someone needs to go in and have a talk with her."

"We've tried that," Scott reminds her. "That didn't turn out as well as we hoped."

"Maybe she'll talk to someone more human," She eyes Allison, who is sitting directly across from her.

"You mean, maybe she'll listen to an Argent," Allison counters. "I would, but I need to check in with an informant about some records and they won't talk to anyone but me."

"I'll do it," Braeden speaks up. She sits beside Allison. "We're both survivors," She runs a hand over three slashes that run across her neck, "I could use that as a way in."

"We'll probably also need to warn other packs about Gerard," Isaac voices. "If Kate was willing to go to another country to prove herself to him, he may have followers in others."

"Aright, Boyd and Erica, the two of you will visit the areas marked on the maps," Derek decides. "Even though it's clear that Gerard's main objective is Beacon Hills, we need to warn any potential targets." Boyd and Erica nod in agreement, "Allison, go meet with your informant and see what you can find out, Braeden talk with Monroe. I don't know how much time we have before Stiles wakes up, but I would like for us to at least have a plan when she does."

* * *

Scott is gathering his things at his house when a werecoyote transforming into a human appears through his bedroom window, "Malia, we've talked about you using the door." Scott chastises her, while Malia goes for a bag that has been specifically made for such an occasion to his bathroom, "You know, like a normal person."

"Not normal," Malia tells him casually.

"Aren't you supposed to be with Stiles?"

"Derek's with her," She says. "And Lydia claims that as much as she loves me, she needed some… privacy, so I came here." She takes a spot on his bed, "Are we in trouble with Derek?"

"We're not in trouble with Derek," Scott tells her. "I am."

Malia frowns at the answer, "Because we didn't tell him about Allison?"

"And probably among other things," Scott tells her with a head nod. "And since he's the Alpha and doesn't want to involve me in whatever plan he has in taking down Gerard and Monroe then I'm not involved," Scott tells her.

"So which back-up plan are you going with?" She questions him.

"Malia…"

"Don't Malia, me." She nudges him while giving him an eye challenge, "You forget that I spent quite some time watching you guys as a coyote, trying to figure out how to bring me back. I know you have something."

"We knew there was a chance that there may have been an attack on Stiles," Scott reveals. "That's why we brought it Deucalion, but if what Boyd, Erica, and Isaac said are true then I don't know." Scott clenches his jaw, "They're already targeting our kids, it's only a matter of time before they attack the Preserve all together." He looks to her with some conflict, "And I don't think that the Preserve can bounce back, not even with the help of the Nemeton."

"So, what's plan B? Malia questions him.

"Derek-"

"I didn't ask about Derek," Malia interrupts him. "I asked what's plan B." She places her hand on his shoulder, giving it a tight squeeze, "So plan A didn't work, and Stiles is out for the count, we need to move onto plan B. What's plan B?"

A long silence settles once more, but Malia doesn't rush him. Scott gets off his bed and begins walking back and forth, "No more running." He stops and looks to Malia, "No more half measures. We fight back."

Malia nods in agreement, "I'm good with that plan. And Gerard? Monroe? The hunters?"

"We take them all on."

"Then we're gonna need more firepower," Malia points, "Not just firepower, but we're gonna need an army."

"But Deucalion isn't going to help us fight him," Scott reminds her. "And I don't have an army waiting to fight for me in my back pocket."

"There's something else we can try." Malia says, sitting up from the bed, "But Stiles wouldn't like it."

"Why not?"

"Before you guys found me, I wasn't always on my own as a coyote," Malia tells him. "I actually would sometimes hunt with another pack here in Beacon Hills. They apparently had given up everything that makes them human. Rules, morals. Electricity."

"You're talking about The Primal Pack," Scott realizes.

Malia nods, "Their pack symbol is a circle with a crescent on top. They're strong, but they're not only strong, but they'd also kill anything that crosses their path." She takes a breath, "Honestly, I'm surprised they accepted me in the first place."

"What makes you think they're going to be willing to help us?" Scott questions her. "They're probably safer than any of us right now."

"Because all everyone talks about is how experienced and smart Gerard is," Malia argues. "He's been working on this plan for years now and I'm willing to bet that he's left no stone unturned."

"If what you're saying is true, you're asking me to reach out to a bunch of murders," Scott reminds her.

"Are they any worse than Gerard or Deucalion?"

"At least I know Gerard and Deucalion," Scott counters. "This pack, we, I don't know anything about them."

"Does it matter if they can help us beat Gerard?"

"It matters if they're murderers." Scott takes a deep breath, "I can't ask a pack to do something that I wouldn't do myself."

"Stiles did," Malia points out. "She reached out to an Alpha that murdered his own pack."

"Because she could offer Deucalion something back in return," Scott argues.

Malia is momentarily confused, before realization comes to her, "His eyes."

Scott nods his head, "It's one thing for her to ask for outside help when she has something to offer, but it's another if she doesn't have anything to offer in return."

"So, you're saying we should forget it."

"Probably." A face of resignation falls on his face, "We're not that desperate."

Malia sighs with some frustration, "I know that you guys aren't for killing unless it's a last resort," Malia tells him. "And Stiles is the one who usually does it, but she isn't in the condition to kill anyone, and the one person who we could have actually bargain with might as well be a pacifist," She says more to herself. "I don't know how much more desperate we can be."

* * *

Braeden escorts Tamora Monroe into an interrogation room at the station, though Monroe seems to have already have an idea as to why she has been called in, "You don't really think I shot up Stiles Stilinski's house, do you, Marshall?" She questions with feigning duress, as Braeden taps her finger on a pile of files she has, "I feel like I should be getting a lawyer, although I have no idea why I need one, since... I didn't shoot up that house."

"You don't need a lawyer," Braeden tells her simply. "You got an alibi. That's security camera footage from the school on the night of the attack."

"Then why am I here?" Monroe questions, "What do you want?"

"I got two people in the hospital with gunshot wounds," Braeden reveals to her. "One of them happens to be pregnant. It's not what I want..." Braeden leans in over the table, "It's who."

She opens one of the files open, showing Monroe an image of a young dead boy, "Matt Daehler." Braeden shares, "Your mentor, Gerard, killed him because he believed it would give him control over a supernatural creature called a Kanima. And by killed, I mean he held that poor boy's bleeding head underwater until he drowned." She pulls out another image. This time it's of the distillery, that is located just outside Beacon County. There are numerous dead bodies splayed on the ground, "See how the victims are outfitted here?" Braeden questions her, pointing at one of the men in the photo, "They're hunters. Specifically, Gerard's hunters. He killed them all to frame a man named Deucalion. His hope was it, uh, it would start a war between supernaturals and hunters. This sound familiar?"

Monroe seems unbothered at the news, "Oh, and by killed..." Braeden continues, "I mean gassed into unconsciousness and then bludgeoned to death with a club embedded with claws. Maybe you'll be his next victim."

Monroe remains pokerfaced and unbothered, "You were attacked by something called the Beast. Gerard withheld vital information from Stiles and the others so that he and he alone would be the one to kill this creature. Bring a little clout back to his name. If Stiles had known sooner about the weapon needed to kill this thing, then maybe she could have prevented all this bloodshed." Monroe gives her some feigned interest, "All this," She points between her scars and Monroe's, "Could have been avoided." Braeden leans back in her chair, giving Monroe a stern expression, "What's gonna happen if we don't somehow start understanding each other?"

* * *

In a deserted concrete stall, Allison is doing a gun deal with a group of men wearing military uniforms. She is suspicious not of their clothes, but that her normal informant isn't among the group, "Major Delane is my contact at Camp Robertson." She explains to the group of men, "I'm surprised he didn't tell me about the change in protocol."

The leader of the group, Harper holds one of the guns that Allison has provided, provides some answers to her suspicion, "Well, the Major got promoted and was promptly shipped overseas."

"Huh?" Allison questions with slight fascination, "Didn't know the Army worked that fast."

Harper chuckles at Allison's lack of knowledge of knowing the standard procedure, "They do when they want to."

Allison chuckles to herself until her face falls serious, "The Major's not Army, he's a Marine." She closes the packed weaponry, "Who sent you?" She questions Harper, "Who's buying all this weaponry?" She sees the group of men aren't exactly as confident as she is, "We don't need to have a situation."

Harper gives her a confident expression, "We already do."

Allison gives him a no-nonsense stare, "See, I don't sell to weekend warriors." She explains easily, "You want these guns, you'll answer my question."

Harper doesn't hesitate to point the automatic weapon at Allison, "We're taking the guns, and the ammo, and the crates."

Allison remains stone-faced at the threat, "If you knew anything about guns, you'd know they're not loaded."

Harper pulls out a clip from his uniform, "We brought our own."

"And I always have a backup plan," Allison informs him just before Isaac appears, knocking out one of the men in Harper's group.

Allison is surprised at Isaac's appearance, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm your backup," Isaac answers as if the answer is obvious.

Allison closes her eyes, taking a breath, "I had a guy on the inside."

Isaac gives her a coy grin, "Who?"

"You're standing on him," Allison informs him, which causes Isaac to give an apologetic expression.

The imposter men seem to have had enough of the banter between the former huntress and the werewolf and start firing. Allison and Isaac immediately take whatever hiding spots they can find until the sounds of empty weapons clicking became their advantage.

Allison sends a good few of the men running firing her pistols while Isaac moves to get her inside man to safety from the shootout.

In the fray, Harper manages to load his weapon and sets his sight on Isaac who punches out one of his men. However, he doesn't pull the trigger when he feels the barrel of Allison's pistol on his head, "Where is he?" Allison demands to know.

Instead of answering the question, Harper drops a hidden grenade.

Isaac lifts Allison in his arms, diving for cover just as the grenade goes off.

At the same time, Harper escapes with one of the vehicles.

"For the record, I had everything under control," Allison informs Isaac, who has used his body as a shield.

Isaac gives her a flirtatious smile, "Clearly."

* * *

Lydia is taking a nice warm shower in her at Eichen House when she jumps back in shock as the water turns ice cold. She makes an annoyed expression as she tries to turn the knob to hot, only to find that it is already there, "Are you freaking, kidding me?"

"At least you got a cold shower," A voice complains from the other side.

Lydia's eyes widen as she pulls back her shower curtain and sees Stiles sitting on the toilet seat, rubbing the left side of her head with her fingers. Her baby bump gone. Only seeing Stiles in the bathroom with her isn't what surprises her. She looks around the bathroom and sees that the entire room is iced over and the residue of Stiles' breath floats in the air.

Stepping out of the shower, Lydia finds herself dressed in her hospital gown and bare-footed, "What are you doing here?"

"Well…" Stiles starts off by saying, dropping her hand to reveal that her left eye still has the silver glow to it. She gives a guilty face, "It's not like I had a choice."

"I heard," Lydia tells her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm not the one who got shot," Stiles reminds her.

"That's not what I heard," Lydia tells her. "I'm asking about the voices."

"They're fine," Stiles assures as she makes a small wince, holding onto her ear. "Painfully annoying, but fine. Definitely solidifies my reason to never piggy-back off your power ever again." She sighs taking a breath, forming a cloud of mist to escape from her mouth, "Being a Banshee premonition with you isn't something I thought was possible, I'm freezing and would like to get this over with."

"At least, it's not spiderwebs," Lydia assures her and proceeds to lead them out the bathroom door. Only when they go through the threshold, they're in a different place altogether, that also has the iced-over effect as well.

"Weird," Stiles comments with a shiver. "This looks like the hall in Beacon Memorial…"

"That's because we are," Lydia tells her in a knowing tone.

"Any idea as to why we are here?"

"That," Lydia indicates at a wide path in the ice leading farther down the hall. Together they follow the path passing an ice-covered wheelchair and an empty nurse's station. The wide path leads through a pair of double doors that spell out the word "Morgue."

"Well at least we know why you're having this vision," Stiles comments as she and Lydia push the doors.

The Morgue of the hospital has a different effect than the hall. Inside, the room radiates with warmth and a low humming sound that vibrates through the room, "And why you're here."

Stiles focuses on the sound, seeing a wave of heat coming from one of the cadaver drawers as a warm glow shines from the edges of the drawer.

Stiles and Lydia share unsure gazes before Lydia places her hand on the handle, opening it.

As she does, she and Stiles are covered in bright orange light.

* * *

Scott and Malia arrive at the Primal Pack compound in the woods. It looks completely deserted and there are webs hanging from all corners. As they step into the shack Malia starts to hyperventilate, "What's wrong with this place?"

"It's the Anuk-Ite," Scott realizes as he too starting to feel the effects of the creature's power on him. The fear that is in the air with them is so overwhelming, that Malia's eyes shine their blue as she slowly backs herself back outside. Seeing that she is about to bolt and possibly shift back into her coyote form, Scott takes her hand, "We came for the pack. It'll be okay."

This seems to calm her down and Scott leads her into the shack. On guard, they see that it's completely covered in dust as if it has been a while before anyone has cleaned the area. As they continue forth, they find an unmade bed that has a body with hollowed-out eyes on it.

The scene causes Scott and Malia to back up quickly, but in doing so they come across more beds with bodies on them. All the eyes hollowed out as well.

A loud clattering sound is heard from behind which freaks them out even more. They turn to find Lydia, still barefooted and in her hospital gown, standing in the doorway, "What are you doing here?" Malia questions her, trying to get over her initial fright, "How did you get here?"

"He led me," Lydia answers in a quivering tone. "He wanted me to find it."

Lydia has a distant gaze in her eyes. The gaze in it causes Scott to realize that she is in the middle of having a premonition, "Who led you?"

"Halwyn," She answers as she steps into the room with them, "The dead Hellhound."

"Why would a dead Hellhound bring you here?" Malia questions her confused, "Also, isn't he dead?"

"I guess the connection between a Banshee and a Hellhound... Dead Hellhound?" She finishes with some minor confusion, "Is stronger than I thought. As for the why, I'm hoping if I find the body, I'll figure that part out."

"Take your pick," Malia offers to her, indicting around them of the bodies.

Lydia walks over to all the bodies, each having a circle with a crescent on top, signifying that they are members of the Primal Pack. She shakes her head when she is at the last one, "It's a different body."

Malia shakes her head, "There's not another body out here." She points to herself, "I'd smell it."

"I'm a harbinger of death," Lydia responds as she sets her eyes onto what appears to be a back entrance to the shack, "Trust me."

Lydia leads Malia and Scott to the door and pass a worn-out fence and goes through the trees surrounding the compound until they're in the woods. They don't get too from the compound when Lydia stops them at a pile of leaves that seems to hide something.

Automatically, Lydia kneels and brushes the leaves out of the way to reveal a skinless bloody lump of a body, that has a phone next to it.

"I know I don't get everything as a coyote," Malia says, looking puzzled. "But I'm pretty sure saw Parrish kill it."

"This one's different," Lydia tells them as she examines the body. "This one is part of the pack."

Scott kneels as well and sees that Lydia is indeed correct, "She's right." He indicates at a tattoo that appears on the bicep of the lump, "This is their pack symbol."

"The skin is gone," Malia argues.

"Wolves have to burn tattoos into their skin," Scott explains. He pulls up the sleeve of his shirt and reveals a two-circle tattoo, with one bigger than the other, on his bicep. "My tattoo is probably scarred into my muscles, too."

"So, there's two of them?"

"The Anuk-Ite has two faces," Lydia recites. "He wanted me to find one of the Anuk-Ite's faces."

* * *

Derek is brooding about the events that have occurred in the past 24 hours as he continues to monitor Stiles as she continues sleeping. He had spent much of the day by her side but knew that there were things that still needed to be done and things that he still needed to process.

Boyd and Erica were still en route to warn the other packs while Allison and Braeden have yet to check in with him yet. Looking at the time, he sees that they haven't been in contact in the past four hours, and for some reason that makes him even more irritated at the whole situation.

Unlike Stiles, Derek didn't have a whole network of people he could call on. Sure, he would attend meetings with other Alphas, just to keep up appearances and maintain a sense of peace, but somewhere in the back of his mind, no matter how much he denied it, Derek knew that he was on his own. At the meetings, he would notice the subtle side-eyes and behaviors that were directed at him, a result of him standing by Kate's so-called innocence and ignorance of the fires. The lack of trust and uneasiness was always there and from what he has experienced since all this started, it was also there in the people of the Preserve.

_Everyone has left the Hale House to do their part in finding out more about Monroe and Gerard. Everyone except Boyd and Erica, who have remained behind._

" _You know these packs are going to ask if Kate is involved," Erica tells him. "And when we tell them that she is, they're going to ask about your family and Beacon."_

" _I know," Derek tells her in a strained tone._

" _Derek," Erica tells him in a careful tone. "I don't think anyone's going to want our help. Especially not with being Kate a shapeshifter. Not be a wet blanket, but you know what they're going to say."_

_"Which is why you're going to tell them that you're not there at the request of Alpha Hale of Beacon Hills," Derek informs, shocking Erica and Boyd. "But at the request of Stiles Stilinski of Beacon Hills."  
_

Having Boyd and Erica claim that their visit is on behalf of Stiles was a long shot, but Derek had an inkling that while Stiles may have never visited other packs or shapeshifters internationally, her reputation did.

A knock interrupts Derek's train of thought, he turns away from Stiles to see Liam, the beta werewolf he hasn't seen since the lacrosse scrimmage and the Talbot sibling's death almost three months ago, and an obviously nervous girl, stand at the threshold of the room.

"I was looking for Scott," Liam tells him. "But I see he isn't here."

Derek would've let Liam walk away if he hadn't come to some self-realizations on his own.

One being that if he's going to be the Alpha that he is supposed to be, he needs to start by proving to the Preserve members that they can rely on him, so he takes one more conflicted glance towards Stiles before saying, "What can I do to help?"

Liam raises an eyebrow at the question, but there is some resolve in his eyes.

* * *

Monroe stares at the picture with little to no emotion, before pushing back towards Braeden, "Do you wanna know what I understand?" Monroe questions her, "Do you wanna know what I see in your little show and tell? I see a lack of control over the violence in this county." Monroe places her hands on the table, "A county whose own Sheriff failed to protect." Braeden remains silent, "I was told I was the victim of a wild animal attack. A bear." She snorts with disdain, "I was lied to. He lied to protect them over us." She takes a breath, "I don't speak ill of the dead, but don't sit there and try to tell me that Gerard puts his own interests first. Not when there are years of choosing them over us."

"I think we're done here," Braeden says casually as she escorts them out of the room. There are several deputies occupying themselves with busywork, but Braeden knows better, "If you want to know how to protect yourself, I can teach you," Braeden tells her just loud enough for the eavesdropping deputies to hear. "Gerard can teach you too, but he won't." She assures them, "Instead, he's teaching how to murder innocent kids, who have done nothing wrong. And for that, you're a fool to trust him. You and whatever other followers he has gained over the years." Braeden looks pointedly at the nosy deputies.

"I don't trust him," Monroe confesses. "But I know one thing, he's going to win. And that's what I care about. Nothing is more important to Gerard than this fight. Not the life of a young man, not the lives of his allies, not the lives of his own men. That's how strong his belief is. He won't stop. And that's why he'll beat you."

One of the deputies begin to close in on her, "Touch me, and you'll be feeling the pain of a whole lot more than your buddy who was staking out the Stilinski home." He backs off immediately, but Braeden heads for the exit anyway, "Gerard only cares about himself and his ambitions; if you don't believe me you can ask his own granddaughter whose parents were killed because of him."

* * *

"This is a bad idea," Isaac says when Allison pulls up in front of a warehouse, different from the one where she found Stiles. A warehouse that has multiple people going in and out while being armed with weapons.

"Which is why you're going to stay here," Allison says before leaving Isaac alone.

She walks into the warehouse, noting that is stacked with weapons all the way to the ceiling. Despite the alarming sight, Allison remains neutral as her grandfather finishes talking with someone, who she can tell isn't an expert hunter, "I take it you're not here to rejoin the fight," Gerard states blandly.

"I'm here to stop it." Allison answers plainly, "We want to talk."

Gerard feigns surprise at the claim, "So it's "we" now, huh?"

Allison doesn't fall for the act, "I want to propose a meeting." She expresses, "To, uh, negotiate a peaceful solution before this all," She gestures around the warehouse, "Goes too far."

Gerard gives his granddaughter a momentary look over, "There was a chance, but Stiles Stilinski wasn't there herself, so if she's so keen on meeting this time, she can ask me herself."

Allison makes a small head tilt in acknowledgment, "Well, I thought given the history the two of you share, this seemed like the wiser choice."

"Funny you say that," Gerard counters without missing a beat. "Since the last bullet I took was fired by you."

There is no lost love between grandfather and granddaughter as the two of them spark a staredown, "You're lucky, I didn't aim for your head."

The same amateur hunter from before taking a standby, Gerard. He doesn't hide that the fact that he is concealing a gun, "Don't worry." Gerard says without breaking eye contact, "She's just the messenger."

"What is the message I'm taking back?"

Gerard gives his granddaughter a slightly thoughtful expression, "You tell them all to run."

* * *

Somewhere on the BHHS campus, Derek, Liam, and the girl are in a room with a freezer chest in it.

"I know that I shouldn't have waited for so long," The girl explains to them. "But I didn't know what to do."

"Sydney, it's okay." Liam tells her in a gentle tone, "Just tell us what happened."

"It was after they attacked you in the hall," Sydney explains. She fiddles with her hands, "I didn't know that they would go that far and I-"

"Sydney's been following the group has been testing who is or isn't a werewolf," Liam answers.

Derek looks towards the young teenager, "Why are we here?"

"Because of this, they were werewolves," She answers, opening the chest. There are three bodies inside, one teacher and two students, "But the group, left them alive just as they had done with the others."

Derek sees that their eyes have gaping holes in them, realizing that they're going to need someone with the ability to communicate with the dead.

* * *

Allison gets back in her van where Isaac is still waiting for her.

He is about to question her how it went, but decides against it when she slams the door of the vehicle a bit too hard, "Did you tell him about Kate?"

"No," Allison tells him just as she starts up the vehicle and speeds off.

* * *

"The Anuk-Ite," Scott realizes when he, Lydia, and Malia finally join the others in the hidden room. "We found the remains of the Primal Pack in the same condition."

"The what?" Sydney questions just as Derek questions, "What were you doing looking for the Primal Pack?"

Neither of the questions gets an answer, instead, Malia asks a question of her own, "Why would it want to kill anyone?"

"It feeds off fear," Scott remembers.

"Dead people aren't afraid," Lydia tells him.

"Maybe the killing is just a by-product," Derek offers. "Of it looking for its other half. Which means it's looking for a supernatural creature. Someone like us."

Malia eyes Sydney with suspicion, "Which means they've been helping it."

"I don't think they're doing it on purpose," Sydney says shaking her head. "I asked them why they were doing what they were doing and was told that they were just helping Aaron. Apparently, but was his idea to test everyone."

"Who's Aaron?"

"He's on the lacrosse team." Liam answers as a matter of fact, "He's just a freshman, but no one has seen him for days now."

"Aaron didn't want to find more of us," Scott realizes, "He wants to find his other half. He's the Anuk-Ite."

"You both should probably go," Lydia tells Sydney and Liam. "With your interest in what they're doing," She looks to Sydney before glancing at Liam, "And you for already being a target; there's no doubt that eyes are going to be on you."

Liam gives them an appreciative nod while Sydney gives them an appreciative smile, but before she leaves, she turns to Scott, "I remember what you did for us at the library the night at the scrimmage. You both saved our lives and I just wanted to say thank you."

"It's nice to know not everyone completely hates us," Malia notes as she watches the girl leave. "She may be scared of us, but I think she's more scared of what's leaving behind dead bodies."

"There's gonna be a lot more if we don't find this Aaron's other half," Derek reminds them. "Which we know nothing about."

"We do know one thing," Lydia tells him. "We know it's a werewolf. We found a skinless body, among the Primal Pack, just like the one that was with us in the tunnels. We need to find this other werewolf right now."

"We don't even know who that is," Malia points out to them. "I tried to see if I recognized any of them and I didn't, remember? So, please tell me how we're going to know whose face it's wearing when none of you met them?"

"One of us did," Scott comments, looking at Lydia with a calculated expression. "But you're not going to like what we have to do," He says, looking at Derek.


	10. Monster Mash

At the Animal Clinic, Derek, Scott, Allison, and Isaac stand in the examination room with an air of uncertainty around them. The uncertainty is due to the idea that Scott has suggested that they get into Stiles' mind to find out the identity of the faceless body that was found among the deceased members of the Primal Pack.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous performing that ritual is?" Derek questions Scott. Scott opens his mouth to answer, but Derek doesn't give him a chance. "Do you know the amount of control and practice is required to avoid harm or death?"

"He's done it before," Isaac says, coming to Scott's defense. "If anyone can get into Stiles' head, it would be Scott."

Derek has an expression of astonishment, he looks to Allison for help, "You are okay with this?"

"I'm not sure how much a choice we have," Allison speaks carefully. "There are six bodies dead in the woods and three bodies dead at the school. That's nine bodies in one day and only one of them has no face."

"And we've already managed to look into Aaron's school records," Isaac informs him. "The address listed is nothing more than a housing development that is still in the process of being built."

Derek sighs, realizing that their choices are slimming down, "What do we have to do?"

"You actually probably won't have to do anything," Malia tells them as she and Lydia enter the clinic.

"Malia apparently took this," Lydia claims, holding up a phone. "Off one of the bodies in the woods and there's something on here that you guys would want to listen to."

She pushes the play button, "Hey. It's me again." A woman's voice flows from the speaker, "I don't know why you can't seem to call me back. Maybe it's because you think you're punishing me, but this is too long. It's too much, and it's not about us. Something's happening in Beacon Hills, to the people here." She sighs, "I just … I need to know everyone there with you is okay. Can you just please call me, please. One call, that's all I'm asking for. And, if you can't call me back, I'm going to get my answer anyway. That means I'm coming up there myself if I don't get a call from you. I'm coming up there so just try, try to remember it's my pack too."

"Which one?" Allison questions, examining the phone.

"The one without the face," Malia clarifies.

"Okay, so the one with no face," Derek comments. "You think that's the woman on the phone?"

"Maybe." Lydia admits, "It's the same thing that happened to Aaron. It took over his body, basically stole his face and his DNA. So that means whoever this woman is, she could be the other half of the Anuk-Ite."

"Which means she's just half of the problem," Isaac points out.

Malia glances between the group confused, "So, let's just go after the one we know. Let's go after Aaron." She looks at them as if it were common sense, "It'd be easier to track him than..."

"Aaron lied on his school records," Allison informs the Werecoyote and Banshee. "The two of you won't be able to track him, but there is possibly another way."

"How are we going to track someone with no scent?" Derek questions her, "No anything." Allison raises an eyebrow at him as if he really needed to ask such a pointless question. He sighs realizing exactly who he is questioning, "You're still injured," Derek reminds her. "Don't you think that maybe you should be resting?"

"I'll rest when we find half of this thing," Allison tells him strongly. "But if you don't trust me enough to handle tracking down someone on my own, you're more than welcomed to join me."

Derek almost has the decency to be embarrassed. Almost.

"Maybe I will," He says with a friendly smile.

"Okay…" Scott says, trying to get the conversation back on track. "I guess the rest of us will try to figure out whose voice is on the phone."

"Actually," Lydia says speaking up. "There's something I need to figure out with Hawlyn. He's supposed to be dead, but somehow, he led me out in the woods to find a part of the Anuk-Ite. I want to see if I can reach out to him again."

"Do you even know where his body is?" Derek questions her.

"The vision I had was of me at the hospital," Lydia states. "If I'm somehow able to reach him, maybe he can tell me more about the half of the Anuk-Ite he led me to."

"If we find either half, maybe we don't have to fight at all."

"Stop the Anuk-Ite..." Scott continues.

"Stop the war," Allison concludes, eyeing Derek.

* * *

At Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, Lydia and Malia are standing over a dead body in the morgue. The same morgue where Lydia had her shared premonition with Stiles.

"This him?" Malia questions with some uncertainty.

"Yeah…"

Malia eyes the body cautiously while Lydia stares at it with no surprise, "Well, it seems Hawlyn, your dead Hellhound, is still dead." She examines a wound that is on his forehead that has a silver coating has flaked off and the surrounding tissue glows yellow. She glances at Lydia expectedly, "What else were we supposed to do?"

"Figure out how a Hellhound led me into the woods to find another faceless body while being technically dead," Lydia states as a matter of fact.

"Have you ever experienced something like that before?"

Lydia shakes her head at the tone, "I don't think I would have been led out there if he was fully dead."

Malia snorts, crossing her arms over her chest, "I don't think we should be hanging out here waiting for him to spring back to life."

"We don't have to wait if we can figure out how he was able to reach me."

Malia gives her a challenging expression, "How do we do that?"

"I'm just gonna have to ask him," Lydia answers as she steadies herself on the autopsy table with her head almost touching the dead hellhound. She closes her eyes and begins focusing while Malia watches anxiously.

* * *

Allison has led Derek to the entrance of the tunnels, "The last sighting of the Faceless was in the tunnels. Parrish burned the body, but, you know, none of them have ever been back down there to check."

"Why not?"

"Because they're scared," Allison answers plainly. "You and I are the only ones who weren't down here that night, so we should be fine."

However, the moment Allison opens the door and takes a step in, she feels Derek take a sudden grab at the end of her jacket, "You feel it, right?" He questions, glancing into the darkness with some caution and fear, "It's like it doesn't want us here."

Allison notes in a shaky tone, "That just means we're in the right place." She closes her eyes and takes a calming breath. Exhaling she opens her eyes, reaching for Derek's hand. This seems to break Derek's fear slightly as he looks at her gloved hand enclosed in his as she gives it a squeeze, "You ready?"

It takes Derek a moment to answer, "Yeah."

Together they continue onward.

* * *

Isaac and Scott have been cleaning up the damage that Kate had done to the Stilinski home. The blood streak on the floor is now gone and replaced with a new rug. The bullet hole walls were filled in and painted over. The house was almost returning to its normal appearance of not looking like a murder scene.

"I don't know why we can't for once," Isaac complains as he dumps a shattered piece of glass into a trash container. "Just do it the easy way and just call the number."

"Nothing in the past 24 hours has been easy," Scott reminds him. "Between Stiles kidnapping, Kate's shifter status, Gerard and Monroe, the Anuk-Ite..."

"Derek," Isaac inputs, cutting Scott off. He leans against the threshold of the living and dining room arch, folding his arms while giving Scott a contemplative expression. "I thought we agreed he should've known about Allison as soon as we found out about Kate."

Scott sighs, taking a seat on the couch that was going to have to be replaced, "I was going to tell him."

"Oh really?" Isaac questions, stepping away from the arch and taking a seat next to Scott.

"You got me," Scott groans before slumping his head on Isaac's shoulder. "I was going to tell him, but when Stiles made the decision to not have Derek around her, I chickened out."

Isaac places an arm around Scott, "You know that you're going to have to apologize to him." Scott nods, "And maybe next time don't suggest doing a dangerous ritual that involves embedding claws into the mother of his child's neck."

"Are you done?"

"I could go all day," Isaac smirks. "But we need to focus on the voice. We need to call them."

"And say what?" Scott questions him.

"Hello?" Isaac questions at him as if it is an obvious choice.

Scott hands him the phone, "What are you gonna tell her?"

"I'm gonna try to get her to meet us somewhere," Isaac explains as he goes through the phone. "Meet on neutral ground."

However, the phone suddenly rings and Isaac's maturity about their situation does a 180 as he attempts to hand the phone back over to Scott, "Answer it."

Scott backs away, from the ringing device, "You're the one who wanted to make the call, you take it."

The phone stops ringing, and Isaac gives Scott an apprehensive face before he dials back the number, "Beacon Hills High School." A voice answers, surprising them both, "How can I..."

Isaac disconnects the call, "It's someone at the school."

Isaac's statement seems to trigger something in Scott as he suddenly gets up from the couch and heads up to the second floor of the Stilinski home, to Stiles former bedroom turned study, "I can't believe I didn't think of it in the first place."

Isaac follows Scott into curious about what Scott is going on about, "What are you doing?"

"When Stiles was able to retrieve Malia from the Primal Pack, she had mentioned that one of the pack members wanted to break away," Scott says as he starts logging onto Stiles' laptop at her desk. "However, they didn't want to live here at the Preserve."

"So?"

"So," Scott says as he searches for a particular file, "How else do you think Stiles would keep track of someone like us?"

Isaac's eyes widen at the question, "She didn't."

Scott nods his head as a name appears on the screen, "She did."

* * *

"Anything yet?" Malia questions as she is now pacing in the morgue with Lydia who remains on the table next to Halwyn's body.

Lydia takes a deep breath, "As opposed to when you asked ten minutes ago?" Shye questions the werecoyote, "No." She takes a few more seconds to focus, but opens her eyes in frustration, "It's not working."

She gets off the table seemingly disappointed, "Maybe you should touch him," Malia offers.

"That's ridiculous." She gives Malia a skeptical look which is returned to her just as easily, "There's no way."

Malia still doesn't say anything, and Lydia attempts to try Micah's suggestion. She touches Halwyn's head, chest, and hand but none of the methods appear to work.

"I could try it," Malia offers as she easily extends her claws out.

"You could damage his brain," Lydia counters. "Maybe even more than that bullet already has."

They look at the wound and see that bullet is lodged in his head.

"How did it work last time?"

Lydia makes a head tilt, "Last time, I was ambushed by some random bullets and unconscious."

"Unconscious," Malia mutters looking around their environment. She spots a hammer and gets an idea, "Okay, we can work with that!"

* * *

Scott and Isaac stand a safe distance away from BHHS as they watch a woman arrive at the school. Only they aren't alone as Liam watches with the woman as well with some disgruntlement, "Mrs. Finch?" He questions the two older werewolves, "You're sure?"

"It has to be her on the phone," Scott surmises. "Her arrival to Beacon Hills is the only one that fits the timeline of when we got Malia."

"Okay, well, that still doesn't prove that she's the Anuk-Ite," Isaac argues at him. "Or even that she's one of us."

"Which is where you come in Liam," Scott tells the younger werewolf, "You need to get closer, see if you can get her to expose her supernatural side."

Liam's face drops slightly, "What about the hunters, and the Nazi student brigade?"

"Yeah, Scott what about that?" Isaac questions in a mocking tone.

"I admit, it's not the best plan, but it's the only one I've got," Scott tells them. He looks to Liam, placing his hands on his shoulders. "You don't have to do this if you don't want."

"You mean if I'm scared," Liam corrects him. He stares back at the school, watching his schoolmates enter the building. "I hate biology," He says, before taking off.

As Scott watches the young werewolf with some pride mixed with worry on his face, Isaac leans into Scott's personal space, his face close to Scott's cheek, "Stiles is going to kick your ass when she finds out about this."

"And Allison is going to kick your ass when she finds out the truth about what happened to her crossbow," Scott says easily without making eye contact.

* * *

In class, Liam is trying to think of a way to expose his teacher when a boy sits next to him, "Liam."

Liam remains cool at the greeting, "Gabe."

"Welcome back," Gabe says just before he promptly ignores Liam.

Mrs. Finch starts drawing a diagram on the chalkboard, "Phones away, everyone, and settle down." She draws two sets of eyes, blue and yellow. "We have a long way to go to get through the day. We'll start first with..." She trails off when she finally turns away from the board and sees…"Liam," She says with some minor surprise. "I didn't think we'd be seeing you again."

"Can't let my GPA go down just 'cause I got beat up in class," He tells her boldly.

There is some shame on her face, "Yes. Well, I..." She clears her throat slightly. In doing so, she notices that Liam's seat partner has his phone out, "Gabe, I said no phones." She doesn't give the boy a chance to put away his phone as she simply just confiscates it.

"Okay, let's get started," She announces to her class. "Okay, so when two people come together, we have a variety of possibilities. And how do we determine the probability of an offspring having a particular trait? We're talking about, like, your eye and hair color, or, uh, if you have an extra digit."

While she continues her lecture, Liam slips earplugs in and sets off one of the sonic devices used to drive werewolves.

Scott, who has been stationed in the hallway, winces at the sound.

"Your hearing," Mrs. Finch continues with a small headshake as she clears her throat.

At the same time, a girl in Liam's class flees the room holding her ears.

When Mrs. Finch turns around, she frowns noticing that she is missing a student, "Where did Rebecca go?"

Liam turns off the device, "No reaction at all."

"A little warning would've been nice," Scott complains, rubbing his ear. He examines the hall carefully, spotting a shadow approaching outside the window, "Liam? Did that kid Gabe get a text out?"

"I don't know," Liam answers, before raising his hand to volunteer to do a problem on the board just as Gabe had done.

Thinking the shadow outside is a hunter, Scott prepares to fight, but relaxes when he sees that is a maintenance worker, "Hey, Liam, you better hurry up." Scott says, trying to calm himself, "I think we're running out of chances."

Liam is doing the problem on the board wrong and Mrs. Finch lets him know, "Liam, that's not even remotely close." She says, looking at his work. "Why don't you have a seat, and let's try this again."

Before Liam moves away from the board, he sprinkles a small amount of purple Wolfsbane powder on the eraser. Mrs. Finch gives him a disappointed look before she approaches the board, picks up the eraser, and removes what Liam wrote. Purple dust flies around her causing her to sneeze, but otherwise, she seems unaffected, "You'd think I'd be used to that after years." She jokes slightly to her class, but she rubs the dust between her fingers, suspicion falls on her face, "That's it for today." She decides suddenly, "Class dismissed."

Liam gets ready to leave as well, "Not you, Liam." She calls him out, "You stay put."

* * *

Malia brings the hammer down on her hand, making an example, "See? It will be quick."

Lydia takes a step back away from the werecoyote, "No." She defies, "Mmm-mmm, not like that."

Malia is confused by the rejection, "You want me to knock you out, right?"

"Render unconscious," Lydia corrects her. She indicates at the hammer Malia still has in her hands, "Preferably without pain."

Malia places the hammer down, "Okay, this is what we're gonna do."

"You're going to press against my chest hard," Lydia decides as she starts formulating a plan. "Constricting the flow of blood and oxygen to my brain. It'll drop my blood pressure and render me unconscious."

"That sounds totally unsafe," Malia comments.

Lydia nods her head in agreement as she sets herself back onto the table, "Oh, extremely."

"Are you sure?" Malia asks, voice full of concern.

"No," Lydia answers taking a deep breath and closing her eyes. "But let's go."

Malia stands over her, placing one hand on top of the other. She pushes down on Lydia's chest, causing the Banshee to gasp out loud. Malia presses on more time, this time Lydia gasps, opening her eyes. Malia starts shaking her head, "I don't think this is-" She starts to say before Lydia suddenly closes her eyes again. "Working," She finishes, before poking Lydia in the cheek.

Lydia doesn't react.

* * *

Mrs. Finch and Liam are now alone in her class. Liam tries to put a face of innocence, but his teacher sees right through it, "I know what you're trying to do."

Liam doesn't let his act drop, "You do?"

"You're upset and you wanna get back at me," She explains to him.

Liam no longer has to act like he knows what she is talking about, "Upset?"

"Because I stood by and I did nothing for what Gabe and Nolan did to you." She elaborates, "I'm your teacher and I should have protected you."

"No!" Liam shouts, shocking them. "No, I mean, yeah," He stumbles around his words thinking of that day.

_Gabe throws Liam into the hall and starts beating and kicking him. He struggles not to transform as Gabe continues punching him repeatedly. Sydney tries to intervene but is held back by the crowd of watching students. Liam's face is bloody and bruised. His eyes glow for just a second, but he maintains his cool much to the newbie hunter's surprise, "You're fighting it." Gabe mutters at him, "But you can't hold it forever."_

_Mrs. Finch comes from a corner witnessing the attack, "Do something." Sydney implores her._

_But Mrs. Finch shakes her head backing away, "Sometimes it's best to let them work things out on their own."_

_Liam recites a mantra he uses to maintain his composure as the beating becomes more intense with a knee to the face from Gabe, but when the boy sees that his assault isn't working, he stops and leaves Liam lying on the floor.  
_

"That's not why I'm here," Liam tells her. "I know about your pack."

Mrs. Finch furrows her brow at him, "My what?"

"I know what you are," He leans close to her.

"Liam, I..."

"You're a werewolf."

A beat passes before Mrs. Finch laughs at his face, "A what?" She chuckles between breaths, "A person who turns into a wolf on a full moon? Oh, God." She continues laughing. "Yeah, right. And I can probably only be killed by a silver bullet."

"No, no, that's not totally true," Liam tells her.

"Are you on drugs?" She questions him suddenly, getting her laughter under control.

Liam is thrown off by the question, "Huh?"

"Well, I know your father's a surgeon at the hospital."

"No, I'm not on drugs!" Liam denies, "Mrs. Finch, you're a werewolf."

"Hydrocodone?"

"You have a pack."

"Oxycodone?"

"You said it on the phone."

It's at the mentioning of the phone does she finally gets serious, "That's enough."

"You can't hide what you are."

"I don't know what you're talking about, but you really need to go, now," She tells him in a serious tone. "You need to leave this classroom right now."

Liam sighs seeing that he isn't going to get anywhere with his teacher.

A beep fills the class, Hey. It's me again." A woman's voice, her voice, flows from the speaker, "I don't know why you can't seem to call me back..." Mrs. Finch turns her attention away from Liam to Scott, who is standing at the doorway placing the message. "Maybe it's because you think you're punishing me, but this is too long. It's too much, and it's not about us. Something's happening in Beacon Hills, to the people here." She sighs, "I just …"

She snatches the phone from Scott's hands, visibly shaken, "Where did you find this?"

* * *

_Lydia immediately finds herself in Eichen House. The only Eichen House before it became a proper medical establishment._

_She sees a warm light coming from one of the cells. When she looks inside a fire explodes behind the stone version of Halwyn. He busts from the stone and growls at her. Halwyn bangs his head against the glass of the door, causing the glass to crack. The door then opens and Halwyn leaps through it, grabs Lydia, and they both fall through the wall._

Lydia jumps awake, nearly scaring Malia, "He's not dead." The Banshee says in gasping breathes, "Halwyn's not dead. And I know how to save him."

* * *

"I told you, I don't know what the Primal is." She tells the two werewolves. "I don't know what an Anuk-a-whatever is." She starts stammering with her words, "I, I was just trying to call my daughter." She holds the phone to him, "Where did you get this?"

Liam doesn't answer her question, "You said you were in a pack." Liam pries, "That was you on the phone, that's what you said."

"And I don't know what business it is of yours," She argues towards him, "My personal life. I am the teacher; you are the student." She rants, "I don't go digging into your personal life outside of these walls, you shouldn't be digging into mine."

"Did you reach any of them before they died?" Scott questions her gently.

"What..." The question has caught her off guard, "What are you talking about?"

"Well, Mrs. Finch, I'm sorry," Scott has a grim expression on his face. "But your family, they were attacked, and they're dead."

"Dead?" She repeats with some shock, "They... No, they can't be dead because..." She shakes her head at the newfound information. "They were just, they were... They were in the woods, they were just, they just wanted to live in peace."

"We found that phone on a body," Scott tells her. "Three men, two boys."

Mrs. Finch is disturbed by the news, "What about my daughter?"

"Well, there was another body," Scott shares. "But, uh..."

"But what?" She practically snaps at him.

"We couldn't identify it," He answers. "The skin was stripped down to the muscle. There was no DNA. Pack tattoo was still there."

"No, that doesn't make sense," She argues, shaking her head. "I mean, that isn't how biology works."

"That's what the Anuk-Ite does," Scott elaborates. "It finds a body and it takes its face. It takes the whole identity of that person."

"Not my daughter." Mrs. Finch says, her voice starting to crack. "No, not my daughter."

Scott gives her a sympathetic expression, looking at the phone, "There's a way to find out."

* * *

Dressed as hospital workers with caps and masks, Lydia and Malia wheel Halwyn into the MRI area on a gurney. Malia stares at the machine stumped, "How do we even turn this thing on?"

"By reading the manual," Lydia answers as she pulls up instructions on how to work the machine on her phone. They get it going and pictures of Halwyn's brain begin to resolve.

"Look," Lydia points to the computer screen, "See that image artifacting?" Malia gives her a confused expression, "That means the bullet is ferromagnetic, probably steel. It'll react in the MRI." She explains, "We'll increase the magnet's power, and the machine will pull the bullet right out."

Just as Lydia is about to start the procedure, Malia notices something on the screen, "What are those?"

Lydia stops what she is doing, "What are you talking about?"

"The bullet." Malia points, "It's not just steel. What are those fragments around it?" She points to the white spots that are close to the head wound.

"That's silver. The bullet was coated with it. Silver won't react in the MRI." Lydia explains, "We pull that bullet out and he'll start to heal."

"Healing is good," Malia agrees.

"But he's a Hellhound," Lydia reminds her. "He'll heat up and when he does, that silver is going to melt and seep right into his brain."

Malia can tell that it's not a good reason from Landon's tone, "So, what's a little silver?

"Argyria," Lydia explains using the scientific name, "Silver poisoning."

"And we have no way of getting it out," Malia realizes. "If we take out the bullets, he dies again."

* * *

Mrs. Finch continues to give Scott and Liam a hard time, "I won't do that."

"Just call her and tell her not to go anywhere near the school," Liam pleads to her, following her closely. "Tell her that someone or something is hunting for someone like her."

"You have to stop talking about this." Mrs. Finch whispers at them.

"If she shows up, at least you'll know what happened to your family," Scott offers to her. "And what happened to your daughter."

"I'll do it for you," Liam offers to her.

* * *

Lydia turns down the magnets, "There has to be another way."

"Yeah, if we had more time, I'm sure we could figure something out, but we don't." Malia argues looking at the entrance of the MRI room, "Someone is gonna come through that door any second now and bust us." She sees that Lydia is conflicted on what to do, "Our last shot at figuring out how to beat the Anuk-Ite might be lying on that table, so we need to make a decision right now."

"You don't mean decide," Lydia counters in a low tone. "You mean do it."

Malia nods in agreement, "Yeah, I think it's the right decision." Lydia continues to be conflicted, "If it were that other Hellhound, he'd want us to do it." Malia argues, "He'd sacrifice his life for everyone in Beacon Hills."

"But Jordan would be able to make the decision himself," Lydia argues strongly. "We don't know what Halwyn would do."

"We kind of do," Malia states, getting Lydia to finally look at her. "You said he froze himself for hundreds of years so that he could be ready to fight the Anuk-Ite." Malia presses, "The first thing he does when he's unfrozen is to start hunting the thing. If that's the only thing he's ever cared about."

"Then he'd want us to do this," Lydia decides.

* * *

Derek and Allison continue feeling the effects of the Anuk-Ite in their patrol of the tunnels. Allison is taking the lead, but the silence between the two of them is broken when Derek makes a heavy sigh, "These tunnels go on forever, and we've been down here for hours."

"No real news from the last time you said it minutes ago," Allison says in an annoyed tone.

"I wasn't doubting the plan minutes ago."

Allison stops with an annoyed sigh and faces him, "If you're so concerned, just go. I mean, no one's forcing you to stay here."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Derek questions her with an equally annoyed tone.

"No, you're here because you don't trust me," Allison argues. "I meant what I told Kate at the warehouse. Scott and the others, they are my family. I meant what I told you about your distrust isn't going to stop me." She clenches her hand into a fist, "Even if right now, I'm more terrified of you than whatever's down here."

Derek watches her gaze drop to his hands, which have been shaking throughout the conversation, which are now claws. However, when he looks up, he says that she is armed with miniature daggers.

Derek lets his eyes glow red as he lets out a snarl before jumping at Allison just as a shadowed figure starts to swing at her.

* * *

Liam, Mrs. Finch, and Scott are waiting in her classroom when they hear footsteps coming from the hall, "That's her, isn't it?" She questions Isaac as he readies himself towards the door. "Well, what are you planning on doing?"

"Shh!" Liam whispers.

"You, you're not going to try to hurt her, are you?" She continues questioning Scott, "That's my daughter."

Liam looks to Scott for guidance, who gives him a nod, "We're gonna do what we have to do."

Mrs. Finch is settled with the answer, "What exactly does that mean?"

"Just stay back," Scott advises her.

The footsteps are getting closer and both werewolves, along with Mrs. Finch wait with anticipation.

"Liam?" Scott questions the young wolf.

"Ready."

However, Mrs. Finch is far from ready as she backs herself into the blackboard, touching the wolfsbane eraser. She looks at the backs of the werewolves before she makes her decision and claps the wolfsbane upside each of their heads. They both go down in a coughing fit as she hurries out into the hallway.

* * *

Malia is focusing intensely on Hawlyn's body when she picks up a strange noise, "Something's wrong."

Lydia, who is watching the screen, doesn't see anything wrong, "What is it?"

"His heartbeat," Malia answers as the MRI continues clanking, "It's too fast and erratic." The computers in the room with them begin beeping rapidly, "Turn it off! Turn it off!"

A growling sound fills the air around them and they see Halwyn standing from the machine, "Where is it?" He questions them in a distorted voice before collapsing.

Malia rushes to his aid, helping him to sit up, "What's happening?"

"The Anuk-Ite is destroying our city, that's what's happening." Malia answers rapidly, "And we need you to tell us how to kill it."

"Malia," Lydia says trying to get the werecoyote's attention.

But Malia doesn't hear her and continues with question after question, "Does it have any weaknesses? Is there a weapon that we can use?"

"Malia," Lydia says finally getting the werecoyote's attention, "Look at him."

Malia does and her eyes widen when she sees that Hawlyn has silver leaking from his nose, "What did you do to me?"

* * *

Mrs. Finch is running the deserted hallway of the school when she comes face to face with her daughter, "Quinn," She calls to her with some relief.

As she tries to move forward, she is struck with fear as her vision begins to blur and she hears a high-pitched tone. However, when her vision returns to normal, she finds her daughter standing in front of her. Her eyes glowing blue, "I'm looking for someone." Her daughter claims in a distorted voice, "Someone like me."

Mrs. Finch shakes her head, "You're not my daughter."

A shriek fills her ears just as Quinn claws her to the floor.

"You killed her," Mrs. Finch claims, backing away from the creature who is wearing her daughter's face,

"You killed my daughter. You killed all of them."

"Tell me who it is," The shapeshifter half of the Anuk-Ite wants to know.

* * *

Derek sets Allison up against the wall, "You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Allison assures him, holding onto her side. "Where's he?"

"I don't know."

Aaron makes a return with a metal pipe, trying to take a swing at Derek's head.

_At the school, the Anuk-Ite is about to attack Mrs. Finch some more._

Derek manages to dodge the weapon and move Allison out of the pipe's path. Before Aaron can continue his assault, Derek manages to claw Aaron in the back of his shoulder.

_Quinn suddenly screams as slash marks appear on her shoulder. She leaves Finch alone and takes off running._

Aaron, Derek, and Allison can hear her screams in the tunnels, just before Aaron takes off towards the noise.

"What was that?" Allison questions when Derek kneels to her.

"I don't know, but we gotta find him." Derek decides, "All right, get up, I can't leave you."

Allison shakes her head, "Wait, wait, something's happening." She tells him through pained breathing, "We need, we need to figure it out."

"So, figure it out," Derek snaps at her.

But when she grunts, Derek realizes that she can't focus through the pain. He removes the gloves off her hand, but as soon as he touches her, he realizes that she was in a lot more pain than she had let on as his pain transference ability kicks in instantly.

"I thought…"

Allison shakes her head, "I haven't been in Beacon Hills in a long time," She explains in a tired breath.

* * *

At the school, the supernatural imposter is hiding and showing visible pain. She hears footsteps running and takes off running leaving behind a blood trail on the walls.

Scott and Liam find an injured Mrs. Finch in the hallway, "Wait, I'll stay." Scott decides, "Go find Quinn."

"Whoa, whoa, we need to face her together," Liam argues. "What if she finds Aaron first?" He questions clearly scared that the prospect, "How am I supposed to fight both of them?"

"Liam, it's okay to be afraid," Scott tells him. "Just don't let it stop you, okay?" Liam remains unsure, "You've got this." Scott tells him in a confident tone, "Now go."

* * *

Aaron is running in the tunnels unable to get a read on Quinn's voice. He looks at the wounds he has received from Derek's claws. They don't appear on his body, but he gets an idea and circles back.

In the same spot, Derek releases Allison's hand as he continues to take more of her pain. "This isn't going to cut it," Derek decides. "Put your arms around me, I'm carrying you out of here."

Allison follows his instruction and Derek carries her in a bridal style fashion, but as soon as he starts making their way out of the tunnels, they spot Aaron waiting for them.

Allison feels the rumble in Derek's chest as he sets her down to her feet, "Derek…"

"Stay down," Derek orders her.

Aaron comes at Derek and slams into the wall of the tunnels. Derek is about to shove the boy back when Aaron suddenly grabs his claws and stabs himself with them.

_At the school, Quinn continues to experience the pain from Derek and Aaron's fight. She continues to roar out in pain._

Finally getting what he wants, Aaron shoves the Alpha back to the ground with Allison hurrying to his side.

* * *

In the hallway, Scott is trying to keep Mrs. Finch conscious, "Hold on, Mrs. Finch." He tells her as he tries to keep her head up, "We're gonna get help." He tries to call Isaac, but it seems his phone keeps going to voicemail, "You just, you need to hold on a little bit longer, okay?"

As he inspects her torn clothing, he notices the Primal tattoo on her bicep, "Mrs. Finch? Hey, I need you to look at me, okay?" The woman kind of does, "You have to trigger your healing. You need to shift."

* * *

"I'm sorry," Malia says in a sad tone as she and Lydia are sitting on the MRI floor with Halwyn, "It was the only way to revive you."

He gives them an appalled expression, "Revive me so I can die?"

"No, so you could help us," Lydia counters. "Tell us how to stop it."

"You can't stop it." Halwyn breathes a shuddering breath, "You can't kill it."

"But you did."

"I trapped it," He corrects the Banshee.

"Well, how do we do that?"

Halwyn makes a grunting pain as silver starts leaking from his eyes and mouth, "Don't let it find its other half."

"How do we know it hasn't found it already?"

"Because you wouldn't be alive to tell me," Halwyn answers in a panting tone. "Keep them apart. It's still weak." He continues to show signs of struggling to breathe, "One of them isn't so weak, it's supernatural."

Micah questions, "Shapeshifter?"

"A werewolf," He answers weakly. "You can't let the two halves merge. If you do, you won't be able to catch it."

He grunts in pain and Malia immediately takes a hold of his hand, taking some of the pain away, "We shouldn't have done this," Lydia says softly, tears shining in her eyes. "I am so sorry," She apologizes in a broken tone.

"I'm sorry too," Malia whispers to the dying Hellhound.

"Okay, listen to me, if the two become one, do not look." He warns them, "It will kill you with a look."

With that statement, Halwyn finally dies.

* * *

Liam finds Quinn in the library. And though he is visibly afraid, he repeats, "Stay Afraid."

But Quinn ignores his presence as she senses someone else is in the library with them.

Aaron appears from the shadows and the two halves of the Anuk-Ite stare at each other before they face Liam.

Liam lets his eyes glow yellow as he flicks out his fangs as he releases a mighty roar.

Two hunters and Liam's biology classmate, Gabe, enter the school with guns. They stalk through the halls not noticing the pool of blood that Mrs. Finch has left behind.

In a classroom, Scott is still trying to persuade the teacher to heal, but she's is too distraught about what she has learned, "It's my fault. I pushed her away." She tells him, "I forced her to run to them." She explains to him, "I forced her to hide who she was."

"You need to shift, or you're gonna die." Isaac tells her, "Do you get it? You'll die."

"Oh, Quinn," She mourns. "Quinn..."

Scott sees that she is too deep into her grief to heal herself and takes her by the face, forcing her to look at him, "Your daughter's gone." She tries to look away, but Scott doesn't let her, "Quinn is dead."

This seems to resonate something within Mrs. Finch as she releases a roar and glowing red eyes.

Liam leaps from table to table, crossing the space between himself and the two halves of the Anuk-Ite.

He jumps toward Quinn. She punches him in the chest and sends him flying back. She and Aaron kiss and spiders flow through their mouths into each other. Quinn then headbutts Aaron. They grab each other by the throat and squeeze. They seem equally matched, but Aaron manages to break Quinn's neck. Spiders inside her climb out and into him. His eyes glow purple.

Energy begins swirling around Aaron like purple smoke. His body twists and contorts with the sound of breaking bones as he cries in pain. Inside the swirling vortex, his body begins to change, elongate, and stretch. When the purple smoke clears, what appears to be a hollow-eyed skeleton with only a thin layer of musculature stretched tight on its frame stands where the boy was before. It has no mouth and its eyes swirl with eddies of purple energy.

Liam can't see the creature, but he can hear it and prepares to face it. Just as he is about to get up from the spot he was thrown in, Lydia grabs him from behind and throws him out of the library door. He is surprised by her sudden appearance, "We have to run," She tells as she grabs him by the arm and rushes him down the hall.

"What are you doing here?" He questions obviously confused, "Quinn and Aaron merged, we have to stop them."

"You can't," Lydia answers as she pushes through the double doors and outside the school, "You can't look at it. If you do, it'll kill you."

Gabe overhears this and hides as his two hunter friends continue down the hall.

The Anuk-Ite rounds the corner of the hall. As it turns toward the men, the purple energy flares in its eyes and both men turn to stone. Gabe witnesses this but shuts his eyes tightly and doesn't see the creature as it calmly exits the school.

* * *

The Anuk-Ite arrives at the hospital. Everyone that crosses its path is turned to stone. In the morgue, the creature examines Halwyn's dead form, "Not what you were hoping to find?" Gerard Argent questions it, "You'll forgive me for not looking you in the eye while talking." Though his back is towards the creature, Gerard is obviously terrified, "I've heard the stories of how lethal it can be. I know what you want." He tells the creature, "You want your freedom. That means getting rid of one thing that stands in your way."

A demonic voice answers. "The Nemeton."

"That's right," The elder Argent agrees. "Only it's no longer in the form of what you remember. It's in the form of Stiles Stilinski, someone who you would have no problem matching in a physical fight, but you'd be surprised at how resourceful she can be."

The Anuk-Ite questions him, "Your offer?"

"I will weaken her for you with the proper poison," Gerard offers. "Then, you kill her and her friends, and that will give you all the fear you need to never be caught again."

The Anuk-Ite is smart enough to question him again, "And you?"

"I'll drive every last one of their kind from Beacon Hills," Gerard declares.

* * *

The Preserve members, Derek, and Allison are examining the stone bodies that are left behind in the hall, "How do we fight something we can't look at?" Malia questions.

"We have to learn to fight without our eyes," Scott answers.

"Fight without seeing," Liam comments in a knowing tone. "Do we know someone who's blind and can fight?"

"Deucalion," Derek answers.

Lydia shakes her head, "Just fighting it, isn't going to be enough." She faces the group. "We're going to need help."

Allison questions, "What kind of help?"

* * *

At Eichen House, Isaac has apparently fallen asleep, holding Stiles' hand.

_Lydia answers, "Before he was completely gone, I managed to hear Hawlyn, in my head. He said that when it does merge, we need to catch it again."_

He starts just slightly when he feels pressure in his hand and a weak voice, "Scott?"

"He's okay," Isaac responds, sitting up quickly. Stiles opens her eyes, revealing a silver flicker before they returned to normal. "He just had to handle something real quick."

" _We're going to catch it and trap it with the help of the Nemeton."_


	11. The Approaching Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To make up for taking forever in updating, I've made a nice long chapter! Granted it took me like two rewrites to get what I wanted, but its a process :)
> 
> Thanks for your patience and enjoy!

Derek walks through the underground tunnel, making his way to the underground bunker. It has been hours since the Anuk-Ite had finally found its other half. He had spent those hours days trying to see if he can find any other clues of where the creature could be hiding, but he turned up empty. He even had Malia's assistance, but the werecoyote couldn't find signs of it either.

Though admittingly, he knew it was a lost cause in the first place. Especially since it was already confirmed that the creature had no scent. He just needed to keep himself busy, but he found it nearly impossible since he hasn't heard from Boyd nor Erica since they last landed in France.

He makes it to the steel door, lifting his fist to knock, only for the door to open with Lydia on the other side. She opens the door wider, revealing Scott, Allison, Isaac, Malia, and Stiles sitting at a table that has been placed in the center of the bunker.

Allison gives him an appreciative smile as she sits at the head of the table, on her right sat Scott, Malia, and an empty chair. To the left sat Isaac, Stiles who's arm now is in a sling, and an empty chair.

He isn't sure which chair to take until, Lydia sits in the empty chair beside Malia, leaving the chair beside Stiles empty. For a second, he seems unsure to take it until Stiles gives him a silent nod.

Once he's settled in, Allison starts, "Thanks for coming Derek."

"Thanks for having me."

"The fast few hours, hell days, have been a bit crazy," Allison announces. "I thought it would be best if we all just had a moment to make sure we're all on the same page. Especially with what the three of you, possibly four, have been doing," This statement is geared towards Scott, Lydia, Malia, and Stiles.

"We managed to find out where the Anuk-Ite came from," Lydia shares with her. "Thanks to a vision I had of Eichen House the day Noah passed," Lydia shares with the gathering. "But it was in the old Eichen House basement, so I figured we go to the one person who has stayed with Eichen House through its whole transition..."

_The History of the Anuk-Ite and Hellhound_

"It's nice that this doesn't have the nightmare asylum of death vibe as the old building," Stiles comments as Lydia leads her and Scott in Eichen House. "But what are we doing here? I thought you said you were in the basement of the old building."

"I was," Lydia tells her. "But since they had to use everything that made up the closed unit to make the Ward there's no way for us access it; We need to talk to the person who had been in charge of making sure that none of their supernatural patients escape."

Lydia turns a corner with confidence and leads them to a closed-door with the name "Dr. Conrad Fenris" labeled on it. Without even knocking, Lydia opens the door to find the Hellhound from earlier, Jordan, pinning the doctor up against the wall.

Lydia is casually surprised at the Hellhound's appearance, "Well, it looks like the two of you had the same idea," Stiles comments. Jordan and Lydia stare at each other with some familiarity until Stiles says, "How about we let the good doctor down?"

Scott places a glass of water on Dr. Fenris' desk, "Talk."

"It's Halwyn." He tells them as he sits at his desk, sliding over a photo. Stiles and Lydia take the only two office chairs that he has to offer while Scott stands behind Stiles with Jordan behind Lydia. They each take a turn to look at the photo, "He almost killed me, and burned an orderly to death in the process."

"He was a patient?" Lydia questions.

Dr. Fenris nods his head, "Until he checked out."

Stiles looks impressed and surprised with what she's hearing right now, "Checked out." She repeats, "You can do that?"

"When you build the place, you can." He explains, "He built the original Eichen House in 1912, so he would always have a room."

"1912?" Scott questions with some impression, "That would make him over 100 years old."

"No one knew his actual age."

Jordan is the only one of the quartet not bothered by the age of the Hellhound, "And he's been here the whole time?"

Dr. Fenris nods once more, taking a drink of his water, "Always in a state of hibernation. In case it got out."

"You mean the Anuk-Ite," Stiles corrects him. "Because it seems that has gotten out and that's why he's here." She indicates at Jordan, "His alter ego claims that Hawlyn is dead and now he wants to hunt it as well."

"When was the last time you heard from him?" Scott questions him next.

The doctor gives a thinking expression, "I'd say after that storm a year or so close to the anniversary of the fires."

"You told us that no one escaped during the renovation of the new facility," Lydia says in a knowing tone. "Are you saying this creature has been roaming around here for years without us knowing?"

Stiles is appalled at the discovery, "How could you not tell anyone?"

"He told me not to tell anyone," Dr. Fenris comes at his defense, looking anxious. "You know what that creature is capable of. Imagine if everyone knew about its existence and its escape."

Jordan crosses his arms, "So did he tell you how it escaped?"

The doctor looks at Stiles uneasy before answering the question.

* * *

"While the doctor didn't flat-out say that I was responsible for releasing it," Stiles finishes, crossing her arms. "It doesn't take a genius to put two and two together. Between what Lydia heard that day and where she was, it only makes sense that I somehow released the Anuk-Ite from its prison." She sighs, "It's only appropriate that I'm the one who has to stop it now that it's been made whole."

"Well how much of the Nemeton is needed to stop this thing?" Malia questions. "Does it need a small amount, like Stiles healing a simple injury or-" She trails off her question.

"Does it need a full-body sacrifice?" Stiles questions. "Considering how old this creature is and it was locked away in Eichen House's supernatural prison for the past century, I'd say it needs a body." She motions over her stomach, "Obviously I can't do that right now and the Nemeton isn't in the same place anymore. It hasn't been in the past 10 years."

A silence falls among the table until Scott sits up in his chair, "What if we did the Ritual?"

Stiles immediately starts shaking her head at him as Derek questions beside Stiles, "What ritual?"

"It's an old druidic practice where, if done correctly, we get the location of Nemeton and give back its power. The problem with that is that the Ritual is dangerous." Using her good arm, Stiles takes a blank piece of paper and starts drawing the fivefold Celtic knot. Each knot has a word written in it.

"Virgins, Warriors, Healers, Philosophers, and Guardians," Stiles tells them. "Each role plays a special part in giving the Nemeton power. However, the User and their surrogates will feel permanent darkness around their heart."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Malia comments.

"It's dangerous for more than just that one reason," Stiles tells her. "If the ritual isn't done correctly, or something goes wrong while this ritual is performed then there is a chance that the surrogates may die. It's the main reason why the Ritual isn't practiced anymore."

"It's not like we have a choice," Lydia tells her. "You said so yourself, you can't sacrifice yourself, not that we want you to, of course."

"You realize that this ritual requires five sacrifices, not three," Stiles points out to her. "And before anyone tries to suggest it, I'm not about to drown our entire group on something potentially life-threatening."

"But we," She gestures at herself, Scott, and Allison, "Benefit from the Nemeton in some way." Allison and Scott nod in agreement at Lydia's claim, "That's at least 60% chance of giving the Nemeton back its power and it deals with the Anuk-Ite itself." She clicks her tongue, "I rather take the 60% chance."

Derek notices that Stiles's left eye flicker to silver at Lydia's stance as she clenches her hand in a fist, "We'll figure something out," Derek offers to her. He wants to change the subject, so he goes to their other issue at hand, "What about Gerard and Monroe?"

"It was like the Walmart of frickin guns in there," Allison tells them. "There were people in there, that I'm sure are no way connected in the Argent name. But after his warning of telling, you to run, it makes me think he has something else planned." She glances at Stiles, "I'd rather not wait on something else."

"I don't think he's waiting for anything if a hunter was camping outside of Stiles' house," Derek remembers. "And considering the history, I'm not surprised that he would try to kill Stiles first. He knows that Stiles is practically the leader of the Preserve. You take out the leader and the herd will crumble."

"But the hunter wasn't there to kill Stiles," Malia speaks up, earning herself some confused expressions from Stiles and Derek. "He was only there to get back the map that we stole…"

She stops talking when a humming sound fills the room.

"Wait, that's where you got the map from?" Stiles questions incredulous tone, pointing at the map still on the wall. "The compound?" She looks to Scott and Lydia for answers, "We talked about getting inside to get the kids, but you went on without telling me?"

"We knew there was a chance that Gerard may have taken the kids as bait for you," Allison voices. She gives her a sharp glance, "I wasn't going to take that risk."

Derek half expects Stiles to put up a fight on the matter, but the only she does is take a deep breath, "And?" Stiles questions, "What about the kids?"

"We found what's left of them," Lydia reports softly.

Stiles clenches her hand, taking a calming breath, "I guess the question is now is which problem do we deal with first."

"I think that if we stop the Anuk-Ite," Allison answers rationally, "We stop it all."

Malia crosses her arm with a cynical expression on her face, "Stopping this thing can stop Gerard and the hunters?"

"Not all of them are hunters," Isaac reminds her. "Most of them are ordinary people acting out of fear."

"Monroe's not gonna change." Allison states with certainty, "But I think that we can reach the others." She taps the table, "And we know the Anuk-Ite is causing them to come from a place of fear."

Derek gives an acknowledging head nod, "Well, fear's pretty motivating." He replies knowingly, "Especially when it leads to anger."

"If we can take out the fear, we can take out the fight in them too." Allison continues, "They're afraid of us, but they don't have to be."

"They just have to change their minds," Scott agrees.

"Well, we have to change their minds," Stiles corrects him with a grim expression. She takes a breath, "Alright, we'll do the Ritual."

* * *

Isaac flips the Beacon Hills Animal Clinic sign on the door from "OPEN" to "CLOSED" before joining Scott, Allison, Lydia, Malia, Derek, and Stiles in the exam room.

The metal examination no longer occupies the room but is replaced by three metal tubs filled with ice water and a plant that consists of a woody stem with pairs of broad smooth-edged leaves and white berries. A fourth one lies empty.

Intrigued at the substance in the matter, Malia reaches out for a touch, only for Derek to grab her by the wrist, shaking his head, "Watch what you touch."

"What is it?"

"Mistletoe," Derek explains, wearing a knowing expression. "It can be used both as poison and a cure for people like us."

Stiles nods, "In most cases, it is used as a poison," She looks at the ice water. "But when used correctly and carefully it can be used as a cure."

She looks to Scott, Allison, and Lydia, who stand in front of the metal tubs, giving them an appreciative yet worrying expression. She walks to Scott first, taking hold of his hands, "Scott, your sacrifice is that of the Hands of a Healer," She motions her thumbs onto his hands, leaving behind a green Celtic knot. "With not just your work here at the clinic, but your quick ability to aid our people from whatever injuries they suffer."

She moves onto Allison, repeating the same gesture as she has done with Scott, only this time she marks Allison's forehead, "Allison, your sacrifice is that of the Mind of a Philosopher, with the knowledge you have and ability to strategize a plan." A yellow knot appears as Stiles finishes.

"And Lydia," Stiles says, as she repeats the gesture this time over Lydia's heart. "Your sacrifice is that of the Heart of a Warrior. People always assume that Banshees are nothing more than Harbingers of Death, but I know the truth." Stiles gives her an appraising smile, "You may look like the innocent flower, but you're the serpent under't." A red knot appears.

She looks at them with pride, "I know that I always say that I'm the Protector of Beacon Hills, but that's not true." A smile forms on her face, "Your three sacrifices make up the Will of a Guardian, the Guardians of Beacon Hills."

"That increases the chance of this working, right?" Malia questions with some apprehension, "Them giving the Nemeton back its power and not dying, I mean."

"Once they get in, they'll need someone to hold them down until they're essentially... Well, dead." Stiles explains. "But it's not just someone to hold them under. It needs to be someone who can pull them back, someone that has a strong connection to them, a kind of emotional tether."

Malia is horrified at the answer, "You mean we kill them?"

"Only for a few seconds," Stiles assures her. "We can bring them back."

This seems to ease the werecoyote, "Okay…" She says, now shifting between her feet.

"Malia," Stiles says softly, causing Malia to stop her nervous movement. "You will go with Lydia." Without question, Malia stands beside Lydia.

Stiles glances between Scott and Allison, "Isaac, you're with Allison. And Scott?" Derek looks surprised at the call of his name, "I'm with you." Scott gives her a firm nod. She looks to Derek and tells him, "No matter what happens, do not interrupt the Ritual."

He gives her an unreadable expression but does comply with a nod.

Scott, Allison, and Lydia slip into their tubs and teeth chattering instantly as their tethers come from behind them. Scott tilts his head up to Stiles as she kneels behind him, placing her hands on his shoulder, "It's going to be alright," He whispers to her. She gives him a grateful squeeze on his shoulders, before slowly submerging him into the water as Isaac and Malia follow suit.

A humming sensation starts to takeover Stiles' body as her eyes go silver, "Get ready."

* * *

_Scott, Allison, and Lydia wake in their water-filled tubs in a gasp._ _Their_ _breathing comes out panting as they examine their surroundings._

_They're no longer in the clinic where they once had been but are surrounded by the trees in a clearing. They're surprised to find themselves in the Preserve._

_The trio readies themselves to get out of the tub, but the moment they place their feet on the ground, an instant hum run from their foot to their heads. Looking at each other, they realize they're all having the same experience, and place their other foot and get the same reaction._

_Almost if they know where to go Scott, Allison, and Lydia start walking, with each step the hum becomes more intense. Just as they cross a stream, the warm feeling enhances their entire body, and they know they're going in the right direction._

_It's only a few more steps before they see it._

_The stump of the Nemeton, only someone, a woman is already standing on top of it, her eyes are closed as it appears the vines of the Nemeton are embedded into her skin._

_While Lydia and Allison are confused by the presence of the woman, Scott has an inkling of how it is, "Mrs. Stilinski?"_

_The woman opens her eyes at the name, revealing silver eyes of her own just before the trio is encased by darkness._

* * *

The trio, once more, wakes up with start in gasping breaths. Isaac and Malia help, Allison, and Lydia out of their tubs while Scott stays in his seemingly in shock at who he saw at the Nemeton.

"Scott?" Stiles calls out to him, placing a gentle hand under chin his to get him to look at her, "Scott, talk to me. What did you see?"

Scott blinks confusion on his face, "Your mom." He looks at her, tears in his eyes, "I saw your mom." Stiles grabs him by the forearm, aiding him in getting out of the water. Isaac comes from behind him, wrapping him in a towel.

"We saw the Nemeton too," Allison tells her. "In the middle of the Preserve."

"But it's vines…" Lydia starts with some worry.

"They were embedded in her skin," Stiles finishes for her. "She was there that night, that night she gave her life to save everyone from the fire. To save me."

"Wa-what does that mean?" Malia questions with worry, "Did the Nemeton gets its power back or not?"

Stiles shakes her head in response, "Surrogate sacrifices weren't enough." She feels a certain pair of eyes on her, "It needs a tangible sacrifice. It needs me."

* * *

Meanwhile, at the Argent compound, Monroe becomes impatient with Gerard as she follows him, "We should've attacked when they had them scattered," She berates. "And now they've got the map. What if they figure out what we're doing?"

Gerard doesn't seem bothered by Monroe's words, "They won't."

"I found Jimenez tied up and the rest of your men out cold," She reminds him. "It looks like there were four of them and they outmaneuvered and overpowered all of them." She places her hands on her hips, giving him a hard stare, "What are you gonna do about it? I want to know there's a plan."

He stops them at the door, but before opening it he gives her a calculating glance, "You remember the story I told you about the bond between an Alpha and a Beta? How strong it can be?"

Monroe has no idea where he is going with the reminder, but she answers anyway, "Yes..."

His glance then turns cold, "Don't make the mistake of thinking that applies to us."

He then inputs the code to the door, deadlocks unlock as it beeps.

Inside the room, a young woman has been trussed up and hanging from a support beam by a tangle of electrical wire. Black Gaffer's tape covers her mouth.

They hear footsteps come from behind and turn to see Kate, wearing an accomplished smile, as she holds a vial with a yellow liquid.

Gerard is seemingly impressed at the development as he finally gives Monroe, something close to a warm smile, "Gather the others."

* * *

At the Hale House, Melissa McCall is switching her focus from Derek to Stiles with seriousness on her face, "It's not uncommon to induce labor," Melissa explains as she sits in the living room. "But we normally only induce, if there's a health crisis with the mother and/or due or if the baby is long overdue."

"So, it's possible?" Stiles questions.

"Yes, but you're still recovering from your surgery and piggybacking off Lydia," Melissa tells her with some worry. "Your recovery period is going to be pushed back at least to your due date. Are you sure this is something you both want to do?"

Stiles looks at Derek for him to respond and while it's clear on his face that he doesn't like the plan, he answers, "Yes."

Melissa seems disheartened at the answer, "Alright." She opens her medical bag, taking out a small bottle of pills, "Take two tonight and two in the morning." Melissa hands the bottle to Stiles, "I have to work at the hospital tomorrow night, but I'll have my cellphone on me. Call me as soon as your water breaks."

Stiles nods her head in appreciation, "Thank you."

Melissa, now clearly upset, grips Stiles into a tight hug, "You remind me so much of your mother." She pulls back from Stiles and gives her a sad smile before she leaves.

For the first time since she has awakened, Stiles realizes that she and Derek have alone time, "Thank you." She tells him.

"It's not like I can stop you," Derek tells her in a soft voice.

Stiles laughs slightly at his response before clearing her throat, "I know this whole process isn't how we thought it would be, but I wanted to apologize for what I did at the hospital. It was immature, selfish, and I'm sorry." She takes a deep breath, "You were right about pushing back the opening of the Academy and... I guess I felt like you were trying to take over due to everything being out of control, so I did the one thing I had control over."

"Stiles…"

Stiles holds her hand up to stop him, "It was a shitty thing to do. I shouldn't have kept you away from your daughter. Not with everything that is going on." She places the hand down, "You have as much say as I do when it comes to the safety of Beacon Hills, especially since you're the Alpha."

Derek scratches the side of his face at the claim, "I haven't been much of an Alpha to anyone these past ten years," Derek confesses. "Not after I stood by Kate's side after not listening to the warnings I had gotten. If anyone is an Alpha, it's you. For the past ten years, it's been you, Scott, and Lydia. Not me. You." He takes her fisted hand in his, "I've got a lot of time to make up for not being there for our people and you."

Stiles frowns at him, "Me?"

"I know you think that sacrificing yourself is the only way to save everyone," Derek tells her in a low voice. "And I, for now, am going with your plan." He pulls her close, "But the moment, I find a way to save you, I will stop at nothing to make sure that our daughter doesn't grow up without her mother."

* * *

Monroe has gathered all the Hunter army and their recruits to the armory, where they are watching as she tortures the young woman, who is bound to the metal gate with electrocution. The young woman's fangs are out, looks exhausted and in agony as she catches her breath when the shock subsides, her face covered in blood from her time in captivity.

Monroe dramatically steps out of the shadows where she was originally standing as she begins her spiel, "Take a good look." She instructs her army, "We keep that current of electricity coursing through her because otherwise, she'd break through her bindings." She points across the crowd, "And kill us all."

Monroe walks to the front of the crowd, which notably includes Sydney and Liam's assaulter, Gabe. She stops when she's less than a foot away from the werewolf and looks her in the eyes with a sneer. The young woman, not impressed, growls back at her, "It'd be just you."

Monroe is equally as not impress and starts to electrocute her again, causing her to roar in pain.

Monroe turns her back to her captive so she can face the crowd, her distraction giving the werewolf a few moments of relief from the electricity.

"The people who came before us used arrows and crossbows to fight them," She holds up a simple arrow to emphasize her point. "This is all they had to protect themselves- a sliver of wood," Monroe turns back toward the captive and grabs her by the wrist, "While she has claws that can cut into the bone, and fangs to tear us apart! She's stronger, faster, and her ability to heal can only be described as extraordinary."

Monroe lets go of the werewolf before scanning the crowd, finally stopping when she sees Sydney. She points at her with the arrow in hand, "You."

Sydney looks around before realizing that Monroe is talking to her, a realization that causes her to become somewhat uncomfortable and slightly afraid, "What's your name?"

Even though she isn't comfortable with all the attention she answers, "Sydney..."

Monroe walks closer to Sydney to talk to her. Beside her, a hunter starts looking anxious and twitchy, "You've seen them up close." It's a statement rather than a question, but Sydney remains silent, "Don't be shy."

Sydney takes a deep breath _, "_ It was at the scrimmage... We got trapped in the library."

"And what did you do?"

Sydney finds herself back in the library the night of the scrimmage.

_The roar of the Beast causes her to freeze in fear. Her heart pounds in her chest when she sees a shadow coming closer through the frosted glass of the library doors. Her breath catches in her throat._

_The doors of the library burst open with Stiles holding onto an injured Scott. A roar comes from behind the pair, not too far behind._

_"Out the emergency exit!" Stiles instructs them in a whisper. She looks to Sydney and for a moment, Sydney swears that Stiles's left eye flickered to a silver color as the word_ _"NOW!" enters her head._

_Without question, Sydney pushes the students towards the emergency exit. She is the last to get through the doors, but for some reason, she turns back to see Stiles and Scott embracing each other and hears the words, "Give me five minutes." Just as the monster comes barging in._

_She doesn't witness what happens after that because she is pulled from the doorway by her best friend, Lori Talbot, "Let's get you outta here."_

" _What was that?" Sydney questions her in panic as they run through the school parking lot. "Lori, what's going on?"_

" _I'll explain everything later, I promise," Lori tells her. "But right now, I just need you to trust me."_

"Nothing," Sydney finally answers, thinking of the night she lost her friend. "All we could do was run."

Monroe nods, expecting this answer due to having been in the same position with the Beast, and smiles at her as she puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder, "It's okay, Sydney. I did the same thing... Until I got tired of hiding." She lets go of Sydney and starts speaking louder again, addressing the rest of the crowd, "Tired of being afraid. And I decided it's their turn to be afraid!"

To emphasize her point, Monroe walks over to her captive and stabs her in the abdomen with the arrow.

Everyone in the crowd seems to mutter in agreement with Monroe, aside from Sydney, who looks conflicted about the declaration and looks away. Gabe, however, looks completely elated at the action.

"It's their turn!"

* * *

At the Hale House, Lydia is in a four-poster bed, where she is tossing and turning under the covers, clearly in the middle of a premonitory dream as she clutches at her pillow. Beside her, Malia lays asleep in her werecoyote form, not detecting the Banshee's distress.

Monroe's words fill the air, _"Their turn to hide."_

In another room, Scott, Allison, and Isaac are huddled together. Allison sleeps soundly between the two werewolves. Until Scott and Isaac sense something that awakes them both up with a start. The werewolves share a glance and a nod with each other. Isaac moves to towards the window and looking outside in hopes of finding out what is causing this feeling.

" _Their turn to feel alone!"_

Derek closes the door to Stiles's room, where she is currently asleep. He walks down the hall and the staircase before making his way into the living room on the first floor. Suddenly, he focuses on something and his eyes flash bright crimson as he uses his enhanced sight to help him.

* * *

Out on the road, the new Hellhound, Jordan encounters a situation of his own as he is pulled over by a new coworker of his, "Ferrell... Is there a problem?"

Ferrell sighs and shrugs, "No..."

Jordan frowns at the answer, "Why'd you pull me over?"

"There are some strange people in our town that you're not aware of and I just wanted to give you some advice- stay away from them," Ferrell advises.

Jordan pauses for a moment, remembering the rumors he has heard among his new coworkers, and considers this before he responds. "I've heard the talks around the station; if you're thinking of attacking those innocent people, I'll be there to stop you."

* * *

Back at the Hale House, Derek now walks into the kitchen, where the stress of the sensation of fear and tension causes him to sigh exhaustedly and look at the floor. After a moment, Derek hears a noise behind him and turns to find Scott, Malia, and Isaac behind him. Their eyes glowing in response to his.

* * *

At the armory, Monroe continues her speech to the other Hunters, "Their turn to be hunted."

But the Hunters aren't the only ones who are listening to Monroe's speech. In a gated room, a newly merged Anuk-Ite is listening and focusing his fear-inducement powers on all who are gathered there.

"I was alone when I killed that Hellhound!" Monroe's boosts to the crowd, "A creature they said couldn't be killed."

Under the influence of the Anuk-Ite's powers, the crowd starts to clap and cheer in response to Monroe's words, which does nothing but make Sydney even more uncomfortable. After a moment of applause, Monroe gestures downward with her hands to indicate she'd like to continue.

"You won't have to be alone."

Monroe turns backward and flips up a nearby switch, turning on the overhead lights in the room so that all of the guns and other weapons on the shelves around them are visible to the others, "Thanks to Gerard, you have an armory- guns, weapons... And, most of all, you have each other."

The woman, still panting from exhaustion, starts to panic at where this speech is heading, but Monroe simply ignores her, "I don't wanna pretend that this will be easy. I know it goes against our nature as protectors. But you're going to have to be like Sydney. Keep her bravery in mind as you step out tonight and do what you know you have to do."

Monroe suddenly sneers and turns back to the werewolf, rushing towards her and ripping the arrow out of her side with such force that a small geyser of blood flies out, causing her to once again roar in agony.

Monroe holds the bloody arrow up above her head as nearly everyone in the room cheers, claps, and fist-pumps loudly. After a moment, Monroe beckons Sydney toward her, "Sydney."

Sydney, looking uneasy, slowly walks toward Monroe, who squeezes her hand tightly, "Get her out of here."

When Monroe lets go of Sydney's hand, she sees that the army's leader has placed the keys to the werewolf's shackles into her palm. Sydney, eager not to do more harm to her, gently unlocks her shackles as she does what she's told. Monroe then gets a strange look on her face before she turns to Gabe and gives him a nod before focusing on the crowd, "Help yourselves."

More whooping erupts from the rest of the Hunters as they disperse in order to check out the weaponry Monroe and Gerard are offering them. They begin pulling shotguns, assault rifles, and crossbows off the shelves and being examining them more closely.

Meanwhile, Sydney, looking sick to her stomach, helps the young werewolf into the nearby hallway, half-carrying her about halfway down before the young werewolf begins to dead weighting her, forcing them to stop.

Sydney places her against a wall and sees that she is extremely weak from being tortured and can barely maintain consciousness long enough, "You're not like the others…" She tells Sydney, her head moving from side to side. Sydney stands quietly, "Find him...You have to find him..."

Sydney kneels beside her with some worry, "What are you saying?"

The young werewolf doesn't seem to hear Sydney's question, "Find him please...Find Derek..."

Her eyelids start to flutter, and she ultimately passes out from exhaustion. Sydney wears an unhappy face just in time for Gabe to appear with the bloodied arrow in his hands.

* * *

At the Hale House, Lydia is still fast asleep in bed alone, where she is clearly amid a bad dream; she is groaning softly as she tosses and turns and anxiously clutches at her blankets with her hands. After a moment, she begins softly murmuring under her breath in her sleep, "Find him...Find him please…"

Lydia mutters for a few more seconds before suddenly awakening with a gasp and sitting up in the bed, now occupied with a werecoyote Malia.

* * *

The following morning, Stiles walks into the kitchen to find Lydia and Allison eating breakfast. "I see I'm not the only one who lost her supernatural companion." She comments as she moves to the fridge, opening the door. She is unaware of the anxious glance Allison and Lydia share between each other, "Did they decide to go on some early patrol or something?" She pulls out the orange juice container, before closing the door.

Lydia and Allison school their faces as Stiles makes her way to the table and reaches for a glass, "Probably should make a big breakfast since they'll be hungry." Lydia and Allison nod in agreement as they focus on their food. She looks at the clock confused, "Is it seriously almost 2? I slept that long?"

"You know using your power to that extreme weakens you," Lydia explains to her. "And considering you had surgery to remove that bullet it's no wonder that your body wanting you to rest more."

"I guess," Stiles says, shrugging her uninjured shoulder. "But shouldn't the others be back by now? We agreed to have another meeting at 2?"

"We can't reach them," Allison reveals her. "Or anyone- there are reports that several cell phone towers in the area are down."

"Okay," Stiles says with some acknowledgment. She looks to Allison, "How concerned should we be?"

"Monroe and Gerard concern," Allison replies. "They're cutting us off from the outside and each other."

"Which likely means that they've already started amassing troops on their side," Lydia tells her with a tiny smirk, as though she is preparing herself for the thrill of battle.

Stiles takes a sip of juice, wearing a smirk of her own, "Then we'd better finish up and find ours."

* * *

Derek, Isaac, Scott, and Malia have just arrived at a shipyard full of large steel shipping containers and illuminated by large overhead lights.

Unknown to the group, Deucalion is standing on one of the tallest stacks of containers with his cane in hand.

Just as the four exchange glances with each other, not knowing what to expect or why they are there, Deucalion slams the tip of his cane onto the roof of the container on which he's standing, causing a ripple of sound waves in their direction.

The group, hearing the sound as it moves in their direction, turns to find Deucalion staring down at them, "Do either of you know the term for what I'm doing?"

"Echolocation," Scotts answers.

Deucalion looks surprisingly impressed, "You did your homework."

"I looked a few things up..."

Deucalion's tone becomes serious, "I know you think you can learn in just one day what took me years to master."

"We were hoping for maybe a few highlights?" Malia offers.

"Or anything that can help us fight the Anuk-Ite without looking at it," Isaac throws in for good measure.

"Fighting blind is one thing- you haven't even learned to walk yet." Deucalion gives them a look over, "An orientation in mobility training, specialists have to practice blindfolded with a white cane for at least one hundred and twenty hours before becoming certified."

While Scott and the other seem to be disheartened at the news, Derek remains adamant, "Look, we know the odds are bad, but Gerard's got an army and now there's a creature that can scare ordinary people into becoming killers."

Deucalion sighs, "A creature now capable of killing you with just a look? Lucky me." He tilts his head to the side, "You saw them, didn't you?"

"We saw people turned to stone," Malia answers.

"So why aren't all of you running for your lives?"

Derek looks at Deucalion as though he's offended by the insinuation, "Because we don't run!"

Deucalion smiles proudly at the answer, "Now that sounds like an Alpha." He jumps off the top of the containers, landing on his feet with ease, "Let's get started."

* * *

Lydia, Stiles, and Allison are preparing to leave when the sound of someone pounding on the front door gives them pause, "Derek!"

Liam's voice breaks down the tension that has built between the girls, allowing Stiles to open the door, "Sydney?" She questions confused, but she looks around suspiciously before ushering the two teens inside the home, "What the hell are you two doing here?" She gives Sydney a worried look, "Especially you."

"They're going to attack tonight," Sydney tells her. "Monroe and the others." Allison escorts her to the couch in the living room, "It's not just Hunters- it's everyone and anyone who's willing to pick up a gun. Last night, they were teaching them how to use them, how to load clips, what to do if the gun jams..."

"Everyone?" Stiles questions with disbelief.

Sydney nods her head, "I saw my nurse from the hospital there." She seems quite shaken at the idea, but she manages to soldier on, "But that's not the only thing. Monroe had her show me to a room in the hospital that had three unconscious people in there. They were hooked to an IV that was giving them this purple liquid. She claimed that it weakens them."

"Wolfsbane," Liam says with some anger. "It's not weakening them, it's poisoning them."

Stiles covers her mouth in horror as Allison grits her teeth, "We need to find the other now."

"What about the people in the hospital?" Liam questions them. "We can't just leave them there."

Stiles nods her head, "I agree, but we aren't going to be able to walk into that building without someone trying to kill us much less get them outta there without being seen."

Liam nods in understanding, but he gives her an expression of resolve, "What if I had a plan?"

"Liam…"

"We can't leave them there," Liam tells her, his face falls in remembrance of his friends. "Not after…"

Stiles places reassuring a hand on his shoulder, "We really do need to find the others but..." She looks to Allison and Lydia conflicted before she caves, "Okay."

Liam is stunned at the response, "Really?"

Stiles runs her hand up from his shoulder to his cheek, "Just please be careful and for the love of God, don't go alone." She borderline begs him, "And if it gets hairy, I want you to run. Promise me, you'll run."

"I promise," Liam tells her, before he and Sydney hurry out of the house.

Lydia and Allison take a stand beside Stiles, "You know he was lying about running, right?"

Stiles nods her head, "I know, but I wouldn't be able to stop him even if I tried."

* * *

Deucalion now rests on his cane as he prepares to teach the werecreatures how to fight without their sense of sight, "Unfortunately, there's one crucial difference to teaching you how to fight blind."

Derek nods with an understanding, "We're not really blind."

Malia looks at Deucalion with confusion, "Why does that matter?"

Deucalion turns away from them and begins pacing back and forth as he speaks, "Unless you spend the next few days walking around with a blindfold, all the Anuk-Ite has to do is get you to open your eyes."

Malia states the obvious, "So we keep our eyes shut."

Deucalion stops and faces her direction, "You think it's that easy?" He questions, "What happens to your eyes when you're afraid?"

"They open wide," Scott answers, which prompts Malia to throw him an annoyed look.

"To gather more light and send more data to the brain so you can better handle whatever threat lies in front of you."

Malia focuses on Deucalion with skepticism and scoffs, "I can keep my eyes closed."

Deucalion raises to her challenge, "Well, go ahead. Close them."

Malia does as she's told with an expression that indicates she thinks she's going to prove Deucalion wrong. However, Deucalion bends over and picks up a large stone on the ground before lobbing it at the shipping container behind her. The stone makes a clanging noise when it hits the corrugated steel, startling Malia so much that she flinches, and her eyes fly open.

Deucalion looks at her in exasperation and sighs, "You're dead."

"I get it!" Malia shouts with frustration, "It's gonna be a lot harder than I thought."

"But not impossible," Derek tells her with some support. He gives Deucalion an expected stare, "What's next?"

Deucalion reaches into his pocket and pulls out two pieces of long black material as he walks toward them, "In schools for the blind, it's called sleep-shade training. We'll use regular blindfolds." Deucalion hands Malia and Derek each a blindfold, "And we'll start with echolocation."

Isaac nods, "Sound."

"Then I'll show you how to use thermoception."

Malia, not wanting to be outdone, interjects before Isaac, can, "Heat." She gives Isaac a smug smile as Deucalion continues.

"Equilibrioception."

Malia opens her mouth to speak before she realizes she doesn't know what it means.

"Balance," Scott answers when Malia backs down.

"And proprioception," Deucalion lists off.

"Pressure," Derek answers. Even as he does so, he notices Malia balls her hands into a fist as she very poorly hides her embarrassment.

It clicks for him that Malia wasn't struggling with the fact about being around other supernatural beings. It was the fact that she didn't share the same knowledge as the others did. That's why she always preferred to be in coyote form…She was insecure.

He gives her a nudge with his shoulder, catching her by surprise, "You're good." He assures her, "You've got this."

A small smile shows on her face before she shoots Derek a look before the two cover their eyes with the blindfolds and tie them behind their heads.

* * *

Stiles, Lydia, and Allison, still having no luck finding any of their friends and allies, have gathered in the bunker to regroup. Lydia is thinking as she anxiously paces around the room, while Allison inspects the room, "They haven't been here."

Stiles sighs, "I hate to say it but maybe we should go to the school."

Allison nods in agreement, but she notices that Lydia continuous pacing, "Lydia…" Lydia stops her pacing in the bunker at the call, and sets her palms on the table, and leans on it, "What did you see?"

"Last night, I woke up to someone saying three words..." She tells them, "I don't know if maybe it was just a leftover from a dream... or might be something else." She looks between Stiles and Allison, "But they were saying, "find him please.". And before you ask, I have no idea on who the "he" is."

"That is cryptic and disturbing on multiple levels," Stiles comments. "What else?" Lydia hesitates, which only serves to make Stiles anxious, "Lydia! Don't hold back, remember? No matter how bad it is, you can't hold back."

Lydia takes a deep breath as she recounts her dream, "I was in a storage container. It was steel. There was a blue wall…"

_Lydia walks through a hallway covered in cobwebs._

_Lydia holds out her hand to touch the cobwebs, which causes her to have a series of visions. The first is of Scott in the hall of Beacon Hills High School where he seems to have turned at the waist to see something behind him and has been instantly petrified into stone. Lydia, distraught, touches another section of the cobwebs and sees Isaac turned to stone in the boys' locker room while standing in front of the Anuk-Ite._

_Lydia, still in the container, turns and touches another part of the cobwebs, which causes her to get a vision of Malia petrified into stone in Coach Finstock's office. Finally, Lydia, overwhelmed with fear and grief, gasps when she sees Derek petrified into stone in the middle of the shipyard maze and begins to cry._

Lydia is looking at Stiles with concern, "I saw all of them turned to stone."

Stiles looks at Lydia incredulously, "Do you ever see anything remotely optimistic?"

"It's optimistic if you prevent it," Lydia counters in a sarcastic tone.

Stiles sighs, knowing she has a good point. But Allison seems to think about what she's just heard for a moment, "Storage contain- Do you mean shipping container?"

Lydia pauses, her brow furrowed in thought, before she replies, "Yeah. I was surrounded by them."

For the first time since they arrived at the clinic, Allison looks optimistic, "I think I know where they are."

* * *

The still-blindfolded Derek and Malia continue to stand in front of Deucalion as he lectures them on what they need to learn while Scott and Isaac standby off to the side but listen as well _,_ "Normal humans use echolocation by creating sounds, like clicking the tongue against the roof of the mouth. Since your hearing is a hundred times more powerful, you can pick up natural reflected sounds."

Deucalion hits a nearby shipping container with his cane, causing a loud clang to echo toward Derek and Malia. The sound seems to hurt their ears and startle them because they both flinch when they hear it.

Afterward, Deucalion deliberately moves to another location, "I definitely heard that," Malia complains rubbing her ear.

"But does it tell you where I am?"

Derek's head turns back and forth in an attempt to track Deucalion's voice. Malia seems to be struggling more with the effects of the blindfold and holds her hands out flat in front of her out of fear of an unseen attack. Scott and Isaac watch on with anticipation.

"Don't listen for me." Deucalion advises them, "Listen for the echo, the sound reflections. Use it to find me."

Deucalion once again slams the end of his cane against the shipping container behind him. This time, Derek and Malia are more prepared for the sound, and they listen carefully to the sound waves echoing back and forth against all the different shipping containers as Deucalion circles around them.

"You both have superior hearing," He continues.

Derek and Malia simultaneously pivot on their heel and turn to follow his voice, which drops to a whisper, "You need to focus it, like a weapon!"

Deucalion spins and hits the shipping container with his cane again before turning the corner, leading Derek and Malia into the maze of the shipyard. Derek successfully rounds the corner himself, but Malia, whose hands are still held out in front of her, runs directly into the end of it. Embarrassed, Malia feels around until she finds the path, "I'm not feeling so superior right now!" Malia shouts.

Deucalion slowly makes his way through the maze as the others attempt to find him. He hits the nearby shipping container with his cane, and Derek and Malia spin in an effort to keep up with him, "Find me..."

The cat and mouse game continues with Deucalion egging them on to find him.

Deucalion then begins to drag the tip of his cane against the corrugated metal shipping containers. Derek manages to somewhat keep up with him by feeling the walls, with Malia a short distance behind him.

Deucalion leads them out into the parking lot, "Come find me!"

Derek and Malia successfully make their way out, but by the time they make it to the catwalk between the shipping container maze and the parking lot, Deucalion appears out of the shadows and strikes them in the shins with his cane, using so much force they are both knocked flat on their backs.

Confused, both of them pull off their blindfolds and look up at Deucalion, who sighs in exasperation, "...How dead are we now?" Malia questions him.

Deucalion gives her a pointed look, "Quite."

* * *

The sun is close to setting when Mason and Kira arrive at the hospital, where they walk purposefully into the ER reception area. Unfortunately for them, they are immediately spotted by the nurse from Sydney mentioned, who watches them with some recognition. They're then seen by a male orderly who is in a room with a patient.

Knowing that something else is going on, Mason and Kira do their best to hide their fear as they whisper under their breath, "You see that?" Kira questions him.

"I see it."

"What is going on?"

Mason thinks quickly, but only comes up with one answer, "I think us coming here was planned..."

Mason and Kira turn down a hallway, unable to see that everyone behind them has stopped what they are doing and are staring at them, indicating that most of the staff and patients have been turned against the supernatural.

Outside the ER entrance, a blue SUV filled with several Hunters clad in black utility gear, quickly rush into the hospital, all armed with several varieties of firearms.

At a loss for options, Mason and Kira flee into a nearby empty patient room and hide near the door to the bathroom.

"I think I just realized something else..."

Kira agrees, using her enhanced hearing to listen to the footsteps coming into the hospital, "Me, too- we're bait."

Mason looks around their surroundings and notices an air vent in the room, "We need to find Liam."

Kira glances from the vent to Mason, "Ever carried more than one person?"

Out in the lobby, a paramedic has just walked in the room to find the three Hunters chaining up the doors so that no one can get out, "Hey, you can't do that! You can't block those doors!" When the Hunters turn and aim their automatic weapons at the paramedic, he immediately puts his hands up in a non-threatening manner, "Whoa! Uh, go ahead."

The Hunters roll their eyes and shoot him glares as they make their way further into the hospital. As they pass the nurse's station, one of the Hunters put a cell phone jammer onto the desk to block communications in and out of the building.

Upstairs, Liam, who is pacing around in the intensive care unit, looks out the small glass window in the door to make sure no one is around. When he turns away from the door, a familiar grey smoke filter through the vent and settles into the middle of the room, before transforming into Mason and slight nauseous Kira, "Never again," She says with a pointed finger.

* * *

Derek and Malia have put their blindfolds back on and are standing in front of Deucalion under the catwalk outside of the shipyard. Deucalion turns them so that they are standing back-to-back, "In humans, thermoception is done mainly through the skin. You have temperature receptors that pick up the change in heat and cold. The eyes of Werewolves are particularly effective in picking up heat."

Deucalion closes his eyes for a short moment before then opening them to reveal the cloudy red glowing irises. His vision takes on a reddish-orange hue as he looks at Derek and Malia, still standing back-to-back and blindfolded, "What do we do without our eyes?" Malia questions.

"Focus on your skin- the minute temperature changes."

Malia curiously holds her hands out in front of her as though searching for a change in how her skin feels.

"Now, turn and face each other."

The two do as they're told. Derek's vision takes on a purple and yellow tint as he senses the heat around him to make up a kind of thermal image of what is in front of him.

Deucalion calls to the werecoyote, "Malia, try to hit Derek."

Malia turns as though she's trying to look at him in disbelief through her blindfold, "Seriously?"

Deucalion tries to keep his patience in check, "Yes, you came here to learn to fight- kick his ass!"

Malia turns back to face Derek, who looks very unsure about this plan, "Ummm..."

Before Derek can protest further, Malia rears back her fist and throws a punch at Derek, who she can also see through her newly developing thermoception sense, and hits him in the gut.

When Derek doubles over in pain, Malia, proud of herself, giggles happily and turns back to Deucalion before returning to facing off against the Alpha.

After a moment, Derek recovers enough to speak, "What am I supposed to do now?"

Deucalion rolls his eyes in exasperation, "Obviously defend yourself."

Derek stands up straight just in time for Malia to throw another punch, which he barely blocks with the back of his arm. However, when Derek throws a punch of his own, Malia ducks to avoid it before sucker punching him in the face.

Derek staggers backward and leans against the nearby support column, groaning in pain as Deucalion sighs, looking down at the ground.

Malia looks guilty and tries to comfort him, "Sorry..."

Deucalion opens his mouth at her reaction, but Scott beats him to the punch, "Don't be sorry!" Scott tells her with an encouraging passion, "Hit him again!"

Malia backs up a couple of steps and holds up her fists in a fighting stance as Derek recovers from the blow and does the same.

This time, Derek anticipates Malia's attack and ducks, causing her to stagger slightly. He moves to catch her from behind, but Malia senses his movement from behind her and manages to duck, causing Derek's fist to smash a concrete post.

Off to the side with Isaac and Scott, Deucalion comments, "I see where Erica gets her cockiness from."

He steps away from the betas, "Alright, you two that's enough." He rotates his neck as if he has some stiffness in it, "Lose the blindfold, both of you." Derek and Malia do as he instructs, "Malia stand with the others."

Malia, confused, does as she is told as Deucalion takes a step away from Derek, "Close your eyes. We're going to try this again, but this time, I'm not going to hold back."

Derek tosses his blindfold onto the ground, "I'm gonna come at you for real." Deucalion warns him, "You think Stiles asked me here because I know how to fight? She didn't." His eyes start to change into a blazing red and as he speaks his voice takes on a demonic undertone, "She asked me to be here because I know how to kill people."

Deucalion roars before lunging at Derek.


	12. Army of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look at that two chapters in one month, must be to make up for that fact that the next/possibly last chapter won't be ready for awhile due to life getting in the way, but hopefully not too long.
> 
> Enjoy!

On the road to the Shipyard, Stiles can't help but observe from the backseat of Lydia's car, "There's nobody on the roads." She glances out the window, wincing as she runs her hand down her stomach, "It's like they know it's going to happen tonight."

An uneasy silence falls in the car until Allison says, "I still don't know how to handle Gerard or Kate." She clenches her jaw slightly, "And sometimes I wonder if my parents would be frustrated with me for turning against what's left of my family." She sniffs slightly, "No matter how much they've wronged me...Or them."

"Well," Lydia says carefully, keeping her eyes on the road. "I think your parents would want you to do what you think is best. They've always had your interest at heart, code or no code."

Allison laughs lightly, "Remember how they threaten to shoot Scott or Isaac the next time they saw them?"

Stiles groans jokingly, even though the pain she has been feeling in her lower abdomen hasn't let up, "God, don't remind me. They thought your parents were serious and practically begged my mom to do a peace agreement with them and they agreed, remember?" She sits up as some pain depletes but remaining ever so lightly. "Your happiness was more important to them than any code, that's why they pushed for your happiness even further that night."

"Whatever you decide to do," Lydia tells her, sparing her a glance. "We've got your back. Remember that."

Stiles nods in agreement, but when she sits back, she feels a popping sensation, along with fluid slowly running down her leg.

Shit.

She is about to inform Allison and Lydia of the new development when headlights suddenly fill the car from behind. The girls don't need to look behind to know who it is.

Double shit.

* * *

Deucalion and Derek, the latter of whom has his eyes shut, are facing off under the catwalk in the shipyard. Deucalion appears to be unscathed while Derek has multiple lines of blood on his body from Deucalion's pointed needle at the end of his cane. One strike causes Derek to groan in pain when the cane hits him behind the knees, knocking him onto the ground.

Isaac, hating the sight of Derek being defeated by Deucalion, whispers, "Hit him!"

Derek's palms flatten against the concrete ground beneath him, and the vibrations he feels of Deucalion moving toward him allow him to identify where he is standing and dodge the next cane strike, barely missing getting hit in the face with it.

In one fluid motion, Derek reaches out, grabs the cane in his hands, and uses to pulls himself to his feet as well as pulling Deucalion to him so he can flip him onto his back on the ground.

Derek stands over Deucalion, who chuckles, clearly impressed by his student's quick work, "You might just survive this."

Derek opens his eyes and reaches down to help Deucalion to his feet when suddenly, Lydia and Allison come running at them frantically.

Scott frowns in concern as Allison and Lydia join them under the catwalk, "What are you guys doing here?"

"None of us are going to survive this!" Lydia tells them.

"They're coming!" Allison explains to them, "Monroe and more- and they have heavy firepower."

Derek frowns not only at the news but at the fact that someone is missing, "Where's-"

His question goes unfinished just as a hail of gunfire is shot towards them.

At least a half dozen of them hit Deucalion in the chest and abdomen from behind, and the shock of seeing him so seriously injured nearly causes the others to be shot at as well before they're able to take cover behind whatever support columns, dumpsters, and steel drums are nearby.

Deucalion's body falls face-first to the ground, and the others look over to find a wall of Hunters in front of them, many of which move to reveal that Monroe is standing behind them.

* * *

Gunfire continues to rain on the group as Derek and the others continue to stay hidden.

Derek, hiding behind a stone support column, tries to catch of glimpse of everyone's location, but he is only able to find Malia and Lydia who are ducked behind a nearby dumpster before he's forced to move back to avoid being hit by gunfire, which breaks the cement covering of corner he is just hiding behind.

Out in the open, Deucalion is desperately trying to crawl away to safety, while Isaac and Allison rush behind a steel barrel in hopes of it holding up better against the Hunters' ammunition.

Malia, still ducked down as far as she can against the front of a dumpster, tries to hold the metal container still so Lydia, who is covering her ears to minimize the trauma to her enhanced sense of hearing, remains safe.

It takes him a second to realize that someone from their group is missing, "Scott!"

His calling for Scott only gets the attention of a Hunter, who has managed to sneak up on him with an assault rifle that is about to shoot him, but before the Hunter can take the shot, Scott suddenly appears and punches the Hunter soforcefully he flies backward just as Stiles appears by Scott's side.

Derek, stunned, sees that her eyes have gone silver as she gives him a relieved-yet-exasperated expression before muttering the word, "Warriors…"

* * *

From her hiding spot with Isaac, Allison feels the strength of a powerful force go through her body. The humming she hears in her mind is strange, yet familiar. Isaac senses something is happening to her because when he spares a glance, he sees Allison's left eye briefly flickers from silver to red. The pair exchange knowing glances at each other before Allison steps from their hiding place and launches herself into the fray, with amazing speed and height, allowing her to easily take down two Hunters in midair.

Isaac moves along with her as he runs toward a pair of Hunters shooting at his loved ones and snatches one of their rifles out of their hands, using it to knock them out by hitting them in the head with the butt of it and repeating with the next one before snarling and moving on.

* * *

Behind the dumpster, Lydia seems to be having the same effect as Allison as she too feels a powerful force flow through her body. She hears the word "Warriors" echo in her head as her left eye flickers from silver to red. Sensing someone coming at them from the side, Lydia rushes from behind the dumpster cover, shoving Hunter against one of the stone support columns; though the Hunter blocks her first fist, she manages instinctively uses her other fist, landing a second one on his face kicking him to the side.

Just like with Isaac, Malia gets out of her hiding spot and rushes toward a Hunter, shoving him hard against the chain-link fence behind him. Without pausing, Malia, using her newly taught sightless acuity, senses another Hunter behind her and pirouettes before slashing him across the chest several times with her claws. Finally, Malia runs backward to kick the first Hunter in the head, easily knocking him out.

* * *

The second Monroe witnesses Scott, who has now joined in the fight, slams one of her men to the ground, she realizes the advantage that she had on the werecreatures is no longer available. The realization sparks, a slight tingling sensation overcome her, causing her to look to the middle of the fray where Stiles is watching her with a calculated glance.

She, once again, remembers the bond of an Alpha and a Beta.

_In her office at Beacon Hills High School, Monroe has alerted her mentor about an incident that is currently going on out of her control, "The armory failsafe was triggered, and I can't reach anyone there."_

_The elder Argent doesn't seem at all worried about the news, "Don't worry about it."_

_She places her hands on top of the desk, "None of that sounds remotely suspicious?"_

_Gerard gives an unbothered impression, "None of it sounds remotely worthy of my time."_

_Monroe clenches her hand into a fist, seeming trying to keep her frustration in check, "What if it's Scott?"_

" _Well, of course, it's Scott!"_

" _Then what are we going to do?" She questions him._

_Gerard sees that his protégé is eager to jump into action. He slyly passes a picture of Stiles across her desk, "Kill his Beta."_

_Monroe stares at the picture with some interest, "Then we take down Scott?"_

_Despite, showing some interest in the photo, Gerard knows that Monroe's sole focus is on Scott, "Do you have any concept of what the bond between an Alpha and his Beta is like?" He questions her, "I would say it's as strong, if not stronger, than the bond between parent and child. Imagine what would happen to the parent if I snapped his child's neck and dropped it at his feet."_

_Monroe seems to get the connection, "What about the rest of his pack?"_

_Gerard taps his finger on the photo, "When Scott falls..."_

_Monroe stares back down at the picture, "...It'll break all of them."_

Thinking of Gerard's words, she runs toward her SUV with the rest of the Hunters who are conscious and not severely injured before they drive away.

* * *

Once the coast is clear of hunters, Allison and Lydia are hit with sudden exhaustion that nearly has them falling to the ground, but thankfully Scott and Malia have hurried to catch them. With each pairing making sure that their partner is okay, they move to join Derek and Stiles on the ground with Deucalion. A green aura emits from Stiles' hands as she tries her best to keep him alive, but the blind Alpha's breaths become more and more shallow.

Not wanting Stiles to waste her efforts on trying to save him, Deucalion gently removes her hands from his and instead touches her face with his hands, a trickle of blood starts dripping from his mouth as he smiles, "You're just like your mother." Stiles snorts a laugh at the comment but doesn't respond as he continues, "The very person Gerard fears that he can't beat, and he knows it."

There an expression of content on his face as his breathing stops, and his hand runs down Stiles' face and onto his body, confirming his death. Stiles, with tears in her eyes, exhales in disappointment, shakes her head in disbelief.

"It's really started, hasn't it?" Malia questions anxiously, shifting on her feet.

Her answer comes in the form of one of the radios, worn by the hunters buzzing to life, "Blood and destruction / And dreadful objects so familiar / All pity choked with custom of fell deeds / And Caesar's spirit, ranging for revenge / With Ate by his side come hot from hell / Shall in these confines with a monarch's voice..."

"Ever the scholar," Allison mutters, clearly unnerved by the message Gerard is sending as she, Scott, Lydia, and Malia move closer to the downed hunter.

"Do you know the rest, Stiles?" Gerard questions, "Do you know your Shakespeare?"

Allison reaches down to answer the question, but she is intercepted by Derek answers, "Cry "Havoc!" and let slip the dogs of war..."

"War, indeed," Gerard voices with some praise. "Good to see you haven't called it quits, yet Derek. Are you pleased with your newfound family?"

Derek can't help but roll his eyes, albeit with a grim expression on his face, before he responds over the radio, "Yeah, why don't you come join us, and I can thank you in person."

Gerard ignores this comment in favor of something else, "What if I told you that you have some old your old family left." At the newly founded Argent Arms International building, Gerard has a radio in one hold and is holding a taser baton in the other, "What if I told you someone like your little sister is still alive?"

* * *

The young woman who had been subjected to Monroe's determination from the night before glares at Gerard with fury as Gerard stares at her. "Say "Hello," Cora!"

Gerard jams the tip of the taser wand into Cora's ribs, and, though she does her best to resist showing her pain to Gerard, she is unable to completely hold in her groans as the electricity courses through her and screams in pain.

_Back at the shipyard, Scott, Derek, Allison, Isaac, and Stiles look horrified by what they're hearing, and Lydia is stunned by the revelation that her dream was about Cora needing to find Derek, covers her ears as if she is unable to handle the young werewolf's cries._

Gerard finishes his electrical torture of Cora, who wastes no time threatening him. "Do it again, old man! Come a little closer," She yanks against her chains, "I'm gonna shove that thing so far up your ass!"

Gerard is not at all offended by this comment focuses back on the task at hand, "You can find her here with us at the armory, Derek." He grins slightly, "In fact, I'm going to tell you where to find all of them."

"Your new hellhound friend managed to get himself a position as a deputy. He met some interesting people while responding to a call from Eichen House."

_At Eichen House, Parrish is walking slowly through the closed unit. It's clear he's uneasy about what he could potentially find here, as he cautiously grabs his sidearm just before he turns the corner. Right as he crosses the threshold to the next gate, he sees Gerard and three Hunters, including Deputy Ferrell, and sighs deeply._

_Parrish, angry at himself for not seeing the trap and frustrated by the fact that his own deputies are apprehending him, decides to be taken without a fight, not willing to hurt any potentially innocent coworkers who may simply be influenced by the Anuk-Ite. Parrish is locked up in a cell, where Gerard turns on the freezer system to weaken his powers._

"Your US Marshall was on her way from San Francisco with the goal of entering the fight…But she didn't far.

_At the Beacon County Sheriff's Department, Braeden is wearing her professional suit as she is roughly thrown into one of the holding cells by more of Monroe and Gerard's deputies. Braeden glares at the Hunters furiously as they lock her inside._

"You might want to tell Scott's mother to skip her shift at the hospital tonight." Gerard shares, "Liam and his friends are there now to recuse Derek's betas. Optimistic of them, but woefully ill-advised."

_At Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, Mason and Kira are keeping_ _watch at the doors in the wing with an unconscious Boyd, Erica, and one unknown person lay in hospital beds, each with oxygen masks on their faces and IV drips of wolfsbane._

_Liam is looking concerned as the lights out in the room flicker ominously._ _He's startled when suddenly, the electricity to the building is shut off, forcing the hospital to rely on its emergency generators to keep the bare minimum number of lights on. When Liam turns to face his friends, his eyes glow bright gold as he prepares himself for a fight._

"This is how you wage war, Scott." Gerard calls out as a reference to their talks in the sewer, "A strategic positioning of your army against theirs. Which is why you, Stiles will come to me. You will try to save as many as you can, and you might even save a few. But with your limited resources now spread thin, you will ultimately fail."

"The dogs of war, Stiles..." Gerard concludes. "They're coming for you."

* * *

"Just buy us more time," Scott instructs someone over the phone as he stands in the clinic. "Wherever Liam and the others are, get them out of there _._ "

He hears the person sigh and Scott has no doubt that they're even having doubts, "Am I buying you time to come up with a plan, or to get help?"

Scott turns to see Lydia placing a cooling cloth on Stiles's forehead as she sits up on the examination table in the animal clinic. She is trying to keep her breathing steady. He considers themselves lucky that Stiles hadn't delivered throughout the shooting.

Beside her, he sees Derek holding her hand and whispering encouraging words in her ear, "Both," He answers just before ending the call.

Just as he enters back into the room, Allison is shaking her head as she gets another disconnected tone, "I can't get Melissa."

"You won't," Lydia tells them. "If she's at the hospital, they're probably using blockers to separate us from them."

Malia slightly panics at the information, "So, does anyone know how to deliver a baby?"

"I do," Scott tells them, earning himself interesting looks. "I did some research and confirmed with my mom on what to do and it's not that much different than me assisting in delivering a litter."

Stiles takes a gasping breath, "If I wasn't in labor, I think I'd kick your butt for that comparison."

Scott laughs, prepping himself for the delivery with gloves, "I know. Alright, this time is just for Derek and Stiles, everyone else waits in the lobby."

* * *

Stiles squeezes Derek's hand as she listens to Scott's instructions on how she should be positioned for when she pushes, but her surroundings start to fade when she and Derek lock eyes with each other.

Even his encouraging words and Scott's instructions start to fade and the only thing that remains is Derek's smile as he looks at the progress of his daughter's arrival.

The same smile is on his face, just like the day they found out she was pregnant. That day, Stiles made a promise to herself that she would give anything to see that smile again.

That's all she could see until a small cry, brings her back into focus.

She moves her head slightly, in time to see Scott, holding a tiny baby in his arms, but in a matter of seconds, she and Derek are cradling the baby to her chest, watching her relax as the baby girl finally calms, listening to the sound of her heartbeat.

She looks up to Derek, seeing him looking at the baby as well.

There is pride and hope in his eyes at the sight of his daughter.

Their daughter.

And as much as Stiles wants for this moment to not end, she says the dreaded words, "We need to get Cora out of the armory; Jordan out of Eichen, and get Liam and the others out of the hospital."

* * *

"Scott's not the Alpha," Monroe tells Gerard when she returns to the armory. Gerard is mildly pleased that Monroe has finally made the distinction, "But he's still the key in being their downfall."

Gerard nods, before taking a small black plastic case off a nearby shelf and holds it out to Monroe, "This is all the yellow wolfsbane we could find." Monroe gently takes the wolfsbane-laced bullet out of the case and holds it up to the light so she can see the yellow poisonous liquid inside, "Extremely rare... But enough to make one bullet."

* * *

"We all know that we're going to walk into an obvious trap," Derek tells the group as they gather back in the examination room. The introduction of his daughter to the others had to be short-lived, but he promised himself that once this is all over, they'd have more time.

He looks to Allison for guidance, "How do you want to do this?"

"Lydia and I will go to the Armory and rescue Cora," Allison decides. "The layout was pretty much the same as the old building and with her being there, there's only one place Gerard would have her, and I'd need the power of a Banshee to help. Isaac, head to Eichen and get Jordan, once you do get to Braeden," She looks to Scott and Derek, "And you two head the high school."

"That's where we're gonna find it?" Derek questions.

Scott shakes his head, "No."

He looks to Derek with a knowing glance, "It'll find us."

Allison glances towards her friend, "Stiles…"

"You don't have to say it," Stiles tries to tell her in a strong tone, but it comes out weak. The combination of using her Nemetonic power and giving birth has taken its toll. "I'll get us the Nemeton." She clears her throat and looks to Malia, who hasn't been given a part yet. "Malia, you have the most important job." She looks down at the baby, now sleeping in her arm, "Your job is to take this child and get the hell out of Beacon Hills as fast as you can."

"Wa-was-what?" Malia looking between Stiles and Derek for an answer. "You want me to run?"

"We want you to survive," Derek corrects her. "We know it's a lot to ask of you, but we couldn't think of anyone more capable of protecting this baby than you. There's a pack in North Carolina that would be willing to help you." He places an encouraging hand on her shoulder, "So what do you say?"

Malia takes in Derek's words, an expression of contemplation on her face. She glances around the room and sees her friends…No they weren't her friends.

She nods her head slowly, "I want my family to survive too."

* * *

At Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital, Kira, Mason, and Liam are still hiding in the ICU unit. "My phone's not working." Mason tells them, "I think they're using a cell jammer."

"So, what do we do?"

"We can't leave without them," Liam decides with absolution, "And we can't wait around for help."

"Then it's just the three of us," Kira decides.

Mason is slightly impressed by Kira's statement, "You want them to go against them?"

"Yeah," Kira answers without a second thought. "It's not like we don't have help of our own," She finishes, letting her eyes glow orange.

* * *

In the Armory, Cora's hands have been cuffed and chained to a pipe over her head. It at least is an improvement from how she was held in her captivity. Though she is still weak from Monroe's torture from the night before and Gerard's power trip, she still needs to get out of the armory and she has just enough strength to do one thing.

She eyes at the Hunter, who has been assigned to keep an eye on her. Though the Hunter, or should she say, amateur stares at her with a smug expression, while being armed with sniper-rifle, Cora smells the true emotions.

"You're afraid of me, aren't you?" She questions the hunter. The tensing muscle doesn't go unnoticed, "Did they tell you why you should be afraid of me?" The hunter doesn't move, but continues to act like Cora isn't there, "If you're not afraid, why don't you come a little closer?"

This provokes a response from the Hunter, "Shut up."

"Look at these claws," She encourages him. The man, however, is hesitant, "Come on, I'm practically defenseless thanks to your boss's display last night." This statement seems to be the encouragement the Hunter needs as he steps closer into Cora's space.

She waits until he's directly under the pipe before she uses the little strength she has, to bring the pipe down on his head.

Though it doesn't knock him out, she manages to get her cuffed wrists over the man's head, maneuvering the chains as well, as she bends her arms backward to ram the man into her back as she chokes him with the chain.

It's a struggle that lasts for about a minute before she feels the man's useless wavering arms fall to his side and she lets him drop.

* * *

Scott and Derek arrive at the high school, where they find a stoned body of a woman in the hall, "This isn't the same body from earlier," Derek claims as he examines the body. He frowns as he recognizes the body, "It's Lily." He focuses his senses, hearing a quiet heartbeat from the inside, "She has a heartbeat, but it's faint."

He's suddenly distracted by the sound of footsteps approaching them, "And we're not alone."

Scott wears a worried look as he looks at Lily up and down,"Scott...?"

Scott continues to think for a moment before he finally speaks, "I think I know how to catch it." He turns to Derek wearing an accomplished grin, "And trap it."

* * *

Cora, now free from her restraints but still covered in blood on her face, neck, and arms from being tortured, is slowly and quietly making her way through the armory, ducking behind corners to ensure she's not spotted, to avoid a fight.

She comes upon a steel door at the end of a hall and presses her head close to it to sense how many people are on the other side.

After hearing what sounds like three or four sets of heartbeats, Cora backs away from the door, taking deep breaths to prepare for another battle. She meant what she told Monroe, she doesn't plan on killing anyone, just her.

However, before she can take a run at the door, a groaning sound is heard before gunfire starts to go off.

Alarmed, she jumps back a step, only to hear the rest of the noises be covered up by a shrill Banshee scream. Before Cora can wonder what has just happened, the door is kicked open, revealing Lydia standing on the other side with her hands in front of her.

"Cora?" Lydia questions in a heavy breath. Cora is stunned speechless, but she does nod her head, "We're here to get you out."

"We?" Cora questions just as she steps through the door, only see Allison armed with a sniper-rifle herself, standing around fallen bodies. She immediately lets a low growl, "Argent."

Allison doesn't seem bothered by Cora's reaction to her presence, "Unfortunately."

Cora stares at her unease for a moment, before taking a glance at five different hunters who are lying unconscious with bloody heads, "You did that?"

Allison nods her head, "I did." She offers Cora a hand, "You wouldn't want to get the hell out of here, would you?"

Cora nods as Allison puts her arm over her shoulder to support her.

As the Huntress, Werewolf, and Banshee make their way through the armory, Lydia pulls out her phone when she hears it buzzing and answers putting it on speaker, "We just got Cora out and we're on our way."

"Cora?" Derek's voice comes through the phone.

"Derek?" Cora questions in awe looking at the phone, "Is it really you?"

"Yeah, it's me," Derek tells her. Even though he tries to keep his voice strong, the small waver in it, knowing that his sister is alive, can be heard. "We have a lot to catch up on, but right now, Scott says there's something you need to get first."

* * *

Mason, Liam, and Kira are still hiding out with Boyd, Erica, and the other unknown patient, "Think they'll be okay?" Liam questions his friends.

"Honestly, I feel like they're safer than us," Mason confesses. "Maybe we should split up?"

"Bad things happen when the group split up," Kira comments. "But I don't see how much of a choice we have."

"I'll go first," Liam decides. "I'll distract them and the two of you get out while you can."

As Liam expresses his plan, the unknown patient furthest from the door starts moving. He retrieves a gun from his bedding, revealing that he's not a supernatural creature being poisoned, but a Hunter as part of the trap.

However, he doesn't take a shot at the kids, just as a gray smoke, unknowingly wraps itself around his legs before violently tossing him through the double doors.

"Be careful," Mason tells him as the smoke retracts itself back into his body.

Liam gives an affirming nod and enters the hall to check on the downed man, just before he hears more guns cocking and turns down the hall, becoming alarmed when he sees Gabe and two other Hunters aiming guns at him.

Gabe, holding a shotgun-style assault rifle, stops his cohorts before they can move, "Wait- let me do it."

Liam's eyes widen in shock as Gabe takes aim at him, and he quickly walks backward toward the elevator, not wanting to turn his back and risk getting hit by gunfire.

"Go ahead, Liam." Gabe taunts, "Run. It'll be more fun that way."

Liam continues to frantically back up until he's nearly pressed against the doors of the elevator. Just as the Hunters are about to shoot, the elevator doors open, and a black-clad figure reaches out and wraps Liam in a bear hug before quickly spinning them both back into the elevator and out of sight, the doors shutting right when the gunfire breaks out.

Liam looks up to find a frazzled-looking _,_ "Theo." He pants in surprise, "What are you doing here?

"I was just asking myself the same thing."

Liam looks at the elevator door, which is quickly being dented by all of the gunfire being shot at them.

* * *

Hunters continue patrolling the school. Hiding out of sight in a nearby stairwell, "She's still not answering." Derek informs Scott. "And I don't know how much longer we can wait. Lily isn't going to last like that."

"Oh, neither will we if that thing finds us too," Scott tries to remind him. "If I'm right, then we have to wait for Allison."

Derek gets from the floor and starts heading down the stairs towards the halls, "I'm not waiting here." Derek declares. "I told her, if I found a way to save her, I wasn't going to let our daughter grow-up without her mother and I mean it."

"Derek, hold on," Scott says, immediately following the Alpha. He expects Derek to ignore him, but instead, Derek suddenly stills in the middle of the hall and he sees the reason why.

Not too far from them, Monroe is holding a black handgun that she aims at Scott's chest. Just as she shoots, Derek shoves Scott out the way, making the bullet miss a center mass hit and instead lodges itself just below his right collarbone with so much force that he falls backward onto the floor _._

Through the reaction, Monroe takes the chance she has and flees through some double doors, "Derek…" Scott says with worry.

"Nah, I'm okay," Derek assures him as Scott's right hand gripped into his own, and his left-hand supporting Derek's neck as he helps him into a seated position, which causes Derek even more pain.

When Scott removes his left hand against Derek's bleeding wound and he is alarmed when he sees that his blood is tinged with the yellow wolfsbane serum, "No, you're not okay." Scott tells him, "It's yellow wolfsbane." He informs the Alpha, "It's gonna kill you."

* * *

Back in the armory, Allison leads Cora and Lydia to a sliding steel door to a room. When she steps inside, she grimly takes note of the wolf and coyote skulls, claws, and fangs on display.

It's a damn trophy room.

"When this is over, remind me to burn this place to the ground," Allison says with a mix of disgust and anger as she spots what she needs.

She is about to lead them out when Cora senses something and holds up her hand, stopping them, "Someone's out there." She informs them, "Someone very angry and not human." She takes a deep breath, "They smell like you…but different."

"Kate," Allison realizes. She thinks for a moment before making a decision, "Get this to the others." She hands off a jar filled with a purple powder to Lydia.

Lydia gives her an understanding nod as she leads Cora in the opposite direction.

* * *

Scott manages to get Derek into one of the classrooms, "Okay, sit down." Scott orders him as he directs Derek to one of the stools, but the Alpha tries to fight against him, "Sit down."

"Scott, just go." Derek groans in pain, "Find Stiles, please."

Scott starts rifling through a nearby cabinet, "You know I can't do that." Scott tells him, "There's nothing I can do to stop her, but I can save you." He finds what he is looking for _,_ "And there's only one way to get rid of this type of wolfsbane." He holds up a small, hand-held blowtorch in the cabinet and hits the trigger to make sure it works, causing a small blue flame to come out, "Burn it out."

Scott lights the torch and places the jet of blue flame against Derek's wound.

Derek grips Scott's free arm tightly, which Scott endures in order to keep him upright for as long as possible. As soon as the wolfsbane is out, Derek goes weak, and it takes all of Scott's speed and agility to drop the torch and catch him before he falls off the stool and onto the floor.

Scott gently lowers Derek onto the floor, tossing the stool out of the way, and looks relieved that Derek is okay, though he's now unconscious.

"At least I was able to save one of you," Scott whispers to himself.

He takes a calming breath just before he gets hit with the aura of fear inducement that the Anuk-Ite surrounds itself with, and though he doesn't exactly look afraid, it's clear that he's using all his strength to keep it together against the sensation.

Scott slowly rises to his feet, his Yellow Werewolf eyes and fangs out as he looks around and snarls in a warning.

Knowing Derek is safe for the moment, Scott leaves to investigate.

* * *

Jordan is kneeling on the floor of Halwyn's cell in Eichen House, shivering cold and turning blue from hypothermia while Deputy Ferrell and two other deputies stand to watch outside in the hallway, "Look at him," Deputy Ferrell comments as he looks in the cell through the window on the door, "Do you think he's dying?"

A voice answers his question, "Not likely."

Alarmed at the new presence, the deputies face the end of the hall and sees Braeden entering the hallway, no longer wearing her marshal uniform, but her mercenary outfit. She wears a smug smirk on her face as she approaches the deputies, all of whom are shocked and a little unnerved by the sight of her.

She points to the door, "It's not that easy to kill a Hellhound." The deputies spread out and keep their hands on their sidearms, unsure of what to expect, "You know that's what he's called, right? I mean, if you're going to wander into this world, you might as well have all the information."

Ferrell, concerned by what Braeden could do, pulls out his sidearm and aims it at her, "Nobody here wants to get hurt," He warns.

Braeden stops walking when she's only a foot or two away from Ferrell, not even fazed by the gun pointed at her chest, "I remember you," She tells him. "You're the one who tried to put his hands on me the other day at the station." She tilts her head in an acquiring manner, "Do you remember what I told you would happen if you do?"

Ferrell keeps his gun aimed at Braeden, while one of the other deputies has his gun aimed at the floor in case it's needed, and the other's sidearm is still in his holster _, "_ We're not gonna let you take him out of here, either."

Braeden makes a face that indicates he's appalled by the suggestion, "Well, I don't know about that- there's only three of you."

Ferrell can't help but laugh as he holsters his weapon, "Listen here, Lady."

"Marshal." Braeden corrects him, "You'll refer to me by my proper title... Deputy."

Ferrell continues to be amused by Braeden's attitude, "Okay Marshal, tell how you got those scars." He even goes so far as to gesture at the three scars that run alongside her face.

Braeden shrugs, "A werewolf." She gives him a curious expression, "How'd you break your nose?"

Ferrell is confused by the question, "What's that supposed to...?"

The deputy's question goes unanswered as Braeden sucker-punching him right in the nose. The first unnamed deputy grabs Braeden by the shoulder, but before he can do anything further, she grabs his hand and twists his arm behind his head, kicking backward at the second unnamed deputy before he can even get close and hitting him in the gut. Braeden then slams down on the Achilles tendon of the man she has in an armlock and drops him onto the ground.

Ferrell then starts throwing punches at Braeden, who manages to dodge the first but gets hit in the face for the second attempt. This doesn't seem to affect Braeden at all as she kicks him hard in the stomach, tossing him back against the gate to the adjacent hall, and when Ferrell readies himself for his next move, Braeden once again kicks him so hard that he collapses to the ground.

All three deputies are groaning on the ground by the time the battle is over, and though Braeden did get a bloody nose in the fight, she's mostly just angry that it even had to occur in the first place. She walks over to the cell door and unlocks it before opening it and turning back to the deputies, "The three of you- help Deputy Parrish to his feet and get him out of there."

The three deputies, all of which are injured and clearly hurting, look at Braeden with both fear and respect. Ferrell, who, like Braeden, has a bloody nose, is the first to speak, "Yes, ma'am." She shoots him a glare, and Ferrell clears his throat, "Marshal."

Braeden nods and steps out of the way so that the three deputies can get Jordan up and out of the cell.

As they do, Isaac finally makes it to the cell, not at all surprised to see Braeden is there, "You good?"

Braeden wipes the blood, coming from her nose, "I've had worse."

* * *

Liam and Theo are still hiding in one of the hospital's elevators, where the gunfire from outside in the hallway seems to have died down. Theo looks concerned when he sees Liam focusing his sense of hearing on what is going on in the hallway, "They still out there?"

Liam nods when he hears several heartbeats outside. Theo becomes overwhelmed by what they're facing at the news and it doesn't go unnoticed by Liam, "What are you doing back here?" He questions him. "The last time I saw you said that I was an idiot for wanting to stay in a place that would slowly become a ticking time bomb and left me."

Theo huffs at the question, "We're doing this now?" He points at the door, "Those people outside are the exact reason why I argued for us to get out of this hellhole." He runs a hand through his hair, "Look, they killed Brett and Lori, who didn't have blood on their hands…And I-" Theo stops abruptly and takes a deep breath, "Look, I'm not dying for you."

Liam shrugs his shoulders, not at all surprised that Theo resorts to one of his old self-centered sayings, "I'm not dying for you, either."

One look from the other, tells each boy that the other is lying. Though their breakup hadn't been the best, the feelings between the two are still there, "But, I will..." Theo says, trying to find the right words to make things right between them, "Fight with you."

Liam seems to be somewhat relieved by Theo's declaration and sighs before smiling wryly, "Okay. Let's fight."

The bullet-riddled elevator doors finally open revealing the partially transformed Liam and Theo, who growl aggressively before they rush into the fray to begin the fight in earnest.

Despite their time apart, Theo and Liam work as a good fighting pair, with each of them running toward their respective walls, kicking off of them in order to gain momentum to slam the first two armed Hunters they come upon against the walls and knock them out. Theo goes ahead of Liam, sliding on his knees and tossing the third Hunter onto the floor while Liam slams the head of the second Hunter against the wall for good measure.

Just as Theo shoves a fourth Hunter backward, Liam takes advantage of Theo being bent over to do a barrel roll off of his back and kick the same Hunter in the face. One Hunter is left, and Liam lunges toward him, knocking his gun out of his hand before ducking so that Theo can leap-frog over him and punch him in the head before they both team up to shove him against the wall.

Panting from exertion, Theo and Liam share a relieved look when it appears that the battle has ended, but the sound of an injured Hunter sitting up and cocking his firearm causes them to freeze in fear. Fortunately, before they can even react, Mason appears in his smoke form, lifting the Hunter in the air before and throwing him into a nearby wall, neutralizing him.

When another begins to rise to his feet, Kira rushes through, picking up a nearby rifle that had been dropped on the ground, and hits him in the back of the head with the butt of it to knock him out.

Suddenly, Gabe appears behind Theo and Liam, who are too distracted by Mason and Kira's arrival to notice until it's nearly too late. Kira sees him first and yells, "Get down!"

Theo and Liam turn back to see Gabe aiming his assault rifle at them, causing Theo to waste no time putting his arm around Liam's shoulders and thrusting them both forward as fast as he can so they can duck. Gabe starts shooting round after round, which initially miss Theo and Liam, but which ultimately hit them in the back of where the right shoulder and arm meet and the back of the left calf, respectively. Both end up on the ground, clutching their wounds in pain as Gabe continues shooting.

* * *

Meanwhile, Lydia and Cora have just arrived at the school and are slowly approaching the doors to an entrance hall. Lydia leads her inside, quietly opening the double doors, both on high alert for the Anuk-Ite and/or the Hunters. As they make their way through the hall, "Remember, you can't look at it," Lydia reminds her. "You have to fight it blind."

"I'm not up for a fight just yet," Cora reminds her, holding her side. "So about we just find your friend and my brother and get the hell out of here."

Lydia sighs, "Works for me too."

Suddenly, the two of them are hit with the effects of the Anuk-ite's fear aura, which is so strong that all of them stumble to stay standing, as though it is affecting their sense of equilibrium and ability to see clearly while also making them immensely terrified, "It's here," Lydia warns as she continues to stare straight down the hall as her vision starts to clear slightly. Panic settles in her stomach as she reaches for Cora's hand, "Shut your eyes."

Lydia's tighten grip on her hand, doesn't help with Cora's fear, "Lydia-"

"Shut your eyes!" Lydia follows her own instructions and closes her eyes, preventing her from seeing anything.

* * *

Kate is in the armory, where she is frantically looking through every box and crate on each shelf, clearly in search of something, "Come on!" She becomes more and more upset with every second and lets it show by throwing the cases she's opened on the floor.

When she is unsuccessful in finding what she is looking for, she swipes her arm over an entire shelf and knocks its contents onto the floor with a roar. "Where is it?"

"You actually think I would trust you with the last few ounces of yellow wolfsbane?"

She freezes at the sound of Gerard's voice as he walks into the armory, looking at him with a mixture of hurt and calm fury.

"I'm your daughter," She spits at him. "I'm an Argent."

Gerard strolls toward Kate with his arms folded behind his back and a smug expression on his face, "But still one of them."

Kate looks at Gerard as though she can't believe what he's saying, "So you gave it all to her?" She questions, "You gave it to Monroe?"

Gerard continues walking toward her until they are a little more than arm's length apart, "Oh, I kept enough for one last bullet.

Before Kate can process this, Gerard reveals that the reason why he was holding his hands behind his back was to conceal a handgun, which he quickly aims at her and shoots her just below her rib cage. The bullet hits her with so much force that she's thrown backward and crumples onto the ground, "That bullet."

Kate, as a result of the poison, the gunshot, and Gerard's betrayal crawls toward a support column and has propped herself up against it in a seated position while she gasps for breath and glares at Gerard with silent fury.

"It's over now, Kate." Her father tells her, "Everything fell into place."

"Not everything," A voice tells him.

Gerard pivots around quickly and looks appalled by his granddaughter's appearance and likely interference in his plans. Kate seems to be especially glad that Allison is there, but Gerard feels the opposite and aims his gun at her as she saunters into the room, "It's time to put the guns down."

Gerard's expression is both curious and scared, but he keeps his gun aimed at her, "What are you talking about?"

Allison has a satisfied look on her face as she continues to slowly walk toward her family, she stops when she stands between Gerard and Kate, "It's time that we have a family reunion of our own."

* * *

Scott, his glowing eyes and fangs still out, has just stepped out into the entrance hall of the high school as he follows the fear inducement sensation from the Anuk-Ite. Suddenly, a familiar female voice is heard from around the corner, which shocks Scott so much that the yellow glow fades from his eyes, "Scott, is that you?"

Sure enough, Scott sees the shadow of the woman rounding around the corner and realizes that it is, in fact, Stiles, or at least an apparition of her. Knowing that the Anuk-Ite is about to mess with him, Scott immediately turns his back as he tries to keep calm.

"Scott, please help," Stiles pleads at him.

Scott, knowing that he's in danger, squeezes his eyes closed as tightly as possible and flicks his claws out, keeping his head down to avoid anything that could trick him into opening his eyes.

The Anuk-Ite comes around the corner under the illusion of a black bloodied Stiles, "I don't think it worked; my blood is black," She whimpers. "It hurts so much."

Stiles continues to walk slowly down the hallway toward Scott, who squeezes his hands tightly, causing his claws to pierce the palms of his hands, "Please…"

Scott growls under his breath and opens his hands again to reveal his fingertips are smeared with his blood. Stiles, now halfway down the hallway, "You're not real," Scott grunts out.

"Don't I sound real?" She questions, just close enough that Scott stumbles backward, nearly falling and clawing at the air in front of him just in case she's there. She grabs one of his wrists, "We all know what black blood means." She tells him, "I'm gonna die. Just like everyone else in my family."

It's that phrase that triggers Scott to hold out a little longer, before yanking his wrist free and giving him a chance to catch his breath, "I'm not falling for your stupid trick."

"Is this what you want to tell your goddaughter when she gets older?" The fake Stiles questions now serious, "That you let her mother die because you believed a trick rather than her?"

Despite his better judgment, Scott opens his eyes, causing the glowing purple of the Anuk-Ite eyes to be seen in their reflection. He gasps in fear before he, too, is petrified into stone-like Lily.

The Anuk-Ite takes one last look at its work before turning and walking away.

* * *

Derek has just awakened from having fallen unconscious, and though he's no longer poisoned, he has yet to fully recover from his wounds. He has just made his way into the library, where he hides between the shelves of books as he presses down on his wound to cut down on the bleeding, wincing in pain at the contact between his hand and his still-burned skin.

* * *

In another part of the school, Monroe and some of her Hunters have just come upon Scott's petrified body in the hallway of the high school, where they have stopped to examine it. Monroe slides her right index fingertip down the length of his face, surprised by the fact that the texture resembled that of granite stone.

Just then, a male Hunter speaks up on their two-way radios, "We've got another one here."

The Hunter has found a petrified Lily at the entrance. He continues his update over the radio as he circles around Lily's body to get a better look, "I don't know if she's dead... but she definitely looks vulnerable."

* * *

Isaac, Braeden, and Parrish, who has recovered from his time in the cell, have just returned to the station. Surprisingly, Ferrell is standing behind Parrish, suggesting that he has switched sides.

Isaac looks to Braeden, "What's the plan?"

"City-wide disarmament," Braeden instructs with conviction, "Anyone with a weapon issued by Gerard is going to relinquish it."

Jordan nods in agreement with the plan, "And we'll use force if necessary."

* * *

Derek is still hiding in an aisle of bookshelves at the high school library, where he's leaning against the shelf with his eyes closed, trying to ignore the pain of his still-healing wound. Suddenly, he hears footsteps approaching and opens his eyes out of reflex as he focuses his senses and ducks down out of sight.

"Hiding in the library, Derek?" It's the Anuk-Ite in the form of Kate, "Hiding from me?"

Derek, horrified but knowing this isn't real, immediately shuts his eyes in preparation for a possible fight.

He hears her slowly stalking her way through the library, "Open your eyes, Derek." Kate calls out to him, taking her time to create the most fear, "You think you can fight me, but you can't." She says with a minor sense of victory, "Your friends are gone." She continues taunting, looking around the library,

"They saw my face and it drove them insane." She scoffs a laugh, "They're gone because of you." She turns her head into the direction of Derek's hiding spot, "You failed everyone, Derek." She creeps down the aisle and curls her fingers around the corner just by Derek's head, "Just like you've failed your family."

She comes out of the aisle and into the seating area of the library, where she shoves a study table aside in hopes that the noise will cause Derek to open his eyes. However, Derek's training with Deucalion seems to have worked, as his eyes remain closed. Kate, now only a foot or two away from Derek, whispers dramatically, "Especially Stiles."

This is the last straw for Derek, who becomes so angry that he lunges for the Anuk-Ite, though she vanishes and causes Derek to swipe at the air. Although his eyes are still squeezed closed, he spins around in hopes of using his other senses to figure out where the Anuk-Ite is. Suddenly, the Anuk-Ite, in the form of the partially transformed Scott, leaps into the air and attempts to claw at him, "Open your eyes!" Derek hears Scott say.

Derek ducks to avoid Scott's strike, only for the Anuk-Ite to take the form of Malia, her eyes glowing blue and her fangs and claws out as she rears back to hit him, "Open your eyes!"

The Anuk-Ite's trick into having Derek think that Malia hasn't followed through their plan fails to work and he roars in frustration.

The Anuk-Ite briefly vanishes before replicating Lydia's Banshee scream, which causes Derek to double over and cover his sensitive ears with his hands as the Anuk-Ite telekinetically closes the doors to the library.

Exhausted, Derek lowers his hands and sighs until he's once again startled by the sound of Kate's voice, "Open them, Derek," She urges. "All you have to do is open your eyes."

When the Anuk-Ite realizes that its antics in getting Derek to open his eyes are failing, it transforms into someone, "You'll get to see me again," Stiles' voice rings in his ears.

Derek attempts to remain calm as the disguised Anuk-Ite approaches him, "Your fear is different, Derek. There's power underneath-"

The Anuk-Ite reaches out with a hand and mimes catching something with it, "Power that brings me freedom!" The Anuk-Ite quickly circles around Derek, who seems to sense it despite having his eyes closed and turns so that it no longer behind him, "I won't be trapped again. I won't be caught and caged ever again! Not ever!"

The Anuk-Ite lunges for Derek and grabs him in a chokehold, leaning in close to whisper towards Derek's face, "Open your eyes."

When Derek doesn't respond, she clutches Derek's throat even tighter and growls in a demonic voice, "OPEN THEM!"

Derek, with his eyes still closed, manages to speak in a croaking voice despite being choked, "I know how to fight you."

Suddenly, Derek uses his hands to break out of his chokehold and shoves Anuk-Ite Stiles backward behind the nearby study table and she watches in shock as Derek flicks out his claws and takes a deep breath before driving them into his eye sockets with a roar of agony.

When he finally removes his hands from his face, his eyes have been gouged to the point of blindness, and his clawed fingers are covered in blood as Derek breathes through the pain of what he's just inflicted upon himself, "And I know how to catch you," Derek finishes.

* * *

Out in the preserve, Stiles walks barefoot. Through the ground, she feels an instant hum run from her feet to her head. With each step, the hum becomes more intense and it's only a few more steps before she sees it.

The Nemeton, no longer a stump from what she remembers nor what Allison, Lydia, and Scott have seen, but rather a full-grown tree. Tears swell in her eyes as she steps closer and gazes upon it.

The vibration of the hum only gets stronger as she places a palm against the trunk and a glowing aura of yellow, red, green, and blue becomes visible.

She can't stop the smile spreading on her face as vines whip out from within and slowly start wrapping themselves around her wrist, as they also break into her skin.


End file.
